Julie Delpy and Hope Davis join Gere's Hoax

By James Wray Aug 4, 2005, 7:27 GMT

Julie Delpy and Hope Davis have joined the cast of Lasse Hallstrom's drama Hoax.

The film is based on Irving's novel about the hoax. The ultimate caper story, novelist Clifford Irving's no-holds-barred account of the literary hoax of our time--his "autobiography" of Howard Hughes--was published in Great Britain in 1997, where it became a bestseller. But no American hardcover house would touch THE HOAX until now. One major publisher offered a $500,000 advance when the book was nearing completion, drew up the contract?then abruptly bowed out. Why?

The answer is implicit in this classic tale of daring, treachery, and corruption. As fast-paced and exciting as any spy novel, it involves the reader at every devilish twist and turn. In this first U.S. hardcover edition, Clifford Irving tells how the hoax developed, like a Chinese puzzle, from its madcap beginning to the final startling confession--a witty and nail-biting story of international intrigue and beautiful women, of powerful corporate executives and jet-set rogues, of cover-ups and headlines.

The Hollywood Reporter says Delpy will star as Irving's mistriss and Davis as an employee of the publisher involved.

Richard Gere plays Irving with Alfred Molina and Marcia Gay Harden also cast.