Build a movie plot around this: What is the old man's ex-wife's name? Celia.
Clayton Hammond (Dennis Quaid) attends a public reading of his new book, The Words. Clayton begins reading from his book which focuses on a fictional character named Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), an aspiring writer who lives in New York City with his girlfriend, Dora (Zoe Saldana). Rory borrows some money from his father (J. K. Simmons), gets a job as a mail supervisor at a literary agency and attempts to sell his first novel, which is repeatedly rejected by publishers.After living together for some time, Rory and Dora marry and, during their honeymoon in Paris, Dora buys Rory an old briefcase from an antiques store he was admiring. After returning to America and having his book rejected again, Rory finds an old but masterfully written manuscript in the briefcase with a central character named Jack. Rory types the manuscript into his laptop. Later, while using the laptop, Dora happens upon the novel and reads it. She mistakenly assumes that Rory wrote the novel and convinces him to give it to a publisher at work, Joseph Cutler (Zeljko Ivanek) as his own. After a few months Joseph finally reads the manuscript and offers Rory a contract which he accepts. The book is a hit and Rory becomes famous.At this point, Hammond takes a break from the reading and goes backstage, where he is introduced by his agent (John Hannah) to Daniella (Olivia Wilde), a student and amateur writer who wants to interview him and notes that he is separated from his wife, although he still wears a wedding ring. Hammond agrees to meet her after the ceremony and returns to the stage, where he continues to read the book.The second part of the reading details Rory's encounter with "The Old Man" (Jeremy Irons) in New York City's Central Park, who reveals himself as the true author of the manuscript and that it was based on his life in Paris. He explains that he was a young man (Ben Barnes) when first stationed in France by the U.S. Army in the final days of World War II, where he fell in love with Celia (Nora Arnezeder), a French...