The Hoax(2006)

A fictionalized account of Clifford Irving’s phony autobiography of Howard Hughes.

After Clifford Irving’s publisher declines to publish his latest book, Clifford Irving (Richard Gere) decides to fake a book about Howard Hughes using forged letters to convince the publisher. Irving’s colleague David Susskind (Alfred Molina) does some great research and everyone is fooled. Irving is also helped by a mysterious package from Nevada that has files about Hughes giving illegal money to Nixon. The con unravels and is destroyed by a teleconference by Hughes denying he knows Irving.

As a result of Hughes denying the book, he receives help from the White House regarding a legal issue about one of his airlines. Irving gets a 2 1/2 year sentence and Susskind gets 6 months. The book also fuels Nixon’s paranoia and contributed to the Watergate break-in.