Richard Gere in Q&A at Preview Screening of The Hoax

Holleran/Hallstrom Collaboration at Pelham Picture House March 12

by Rachel G. Breinin

(March 1, 2007) Larchmont’s Leslie Holleran is once again teaming up with Bedford’s Lasse Hallstrom on a major film, this time The Hoax, starring Richard Gere. Local audiences will get a sneak peek at The Hoax – and at Richard Gere – on Monday, March 12 at The Pelham Picture House.

The screening of the film begins at 7:00 pm and will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Mr. Gere to be moderated by Peter Travers, senior editor and film critic for Rolling Stone Magazine and a Mamaroneck resident. Tickets are $35 and will go on sale beginning March 6. (To purchase tickets, go to The Picture House.)

The film goes back to 1972 when author Clifford Irving, played by Mr. Gere, nearly pulled off one of the biggest scams in media history. Based on an autobiographical book by Clifford Irving, The Hoax follows Mr. Irving’s efforts to seek fame and fortune by fabricating a biography of the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. Using forged documents and extensive lies, Mr. Irving convinces the publisher McGraw-Hill that he has a close relationship with Mr. Hughes and is able to land a highly profitable book contract. Even after the book is published and Howard Hughes comes out of seclusion to refute the book, McGraw-Hill stands by the author. It is only after a lengthy investigation that Mr. Irving confesses to his fabrication.

The Hoax was directed by Lasse Hallstrom and produced by Leslie Holleran. This directing/producing duo have worked together on numerous projects including the Oscar-nominated Chocolat and Cider House Rules as well as the recent Casanova.

The Picture House is continuing to show movies – independent and foreign films, classics, shorts, animated films and documentaries from around the world – as it awaits restoration, renovation and expansion. A historic register 1920's theater in Pelham, New York, The Picture House will become a three-screen state-of-the art film and education center over the next few years. With the help of numerous Larchmont, Mamaroneck and other Westchester volunteers, the Pelham Picture House Organization raised sufficient funds to purchase the theater in 2005 and to begin the next phase of the project. (See: The Facility.) Fundraising is ongoing, most recently through a celebrity gala honoring actress Glenn Close and Larchmont/Mamaroneck’s writing/directing team of Dan Futterman and Bennett Miller. (See: Local Film Celebrities Shine at Second Picture House Gala.)

Front Page

Print This Page
Email this page