Summary The Words 2012
A writer at the peak of his literary success discovers the steep price he must pay for stealing another man's work.
Layered romantic drama The Words follows young writer Rory Jansen who finally achieves long sought after literary success after publishing the next great American novel. There's only one catch - he didn't write it. As the past comes back to haunt him and his literary star continues to rise, Jansen is forced to confront the steep price that must be paid for stealing another man's work, and for placing ambition and success above life's most fundamental three words.
In New York, aspiring writer Rory Jansen has written a novel but the editors do not accept to publish it since the story is non-commercial. Rory lives with his girlfriend Dora in a loft and is financially supported by his father Mr. Jansen. When Mr. Jansen tells Rory that he will give no more money for him and that Rory should have a conventional job, he works as a clerk in a publishing house and soon he marries Dora. They travel on honeymoon to Paris and he buys an old briefcase in a jumble sale. When they return to New York, Rory finds the manuscript of a novel hidden in the briefcase and he becomes fascinated with the story and decides to send it to the editors. Soon the book becomes a best-seller and Rory becomes a successful and famous writer. One day, an old man meets him in Central Park and asks for an autograph in his book. When Rory is leaving the place, the old man asks him if he wouldn't like to listen to a story of a man that was robbed by a young man. Rory sits on the bench again and the old man tells a dramatic story of pain and loss to him.
Three linked stories about writers are presented. The first writer is middle aged Clayton Hammond, who, at a reading of excerpts from his latest book titled "The Words", is picked up by a young grad student named Daniella. In succumbing to her advances, he has to figure out if her motives in pursuing him are about him or something about the subject matter of his book. The second writer is Rory Jansen, the subject of Clay's book. After years of struggling as a writer, Rory garnered acclaim and success as a writer upon the publication of his first book, "The Window Tears". That success allowed Rory to publish subsequent books written before he submitted "The Window Tears", those subsequent books which are deemed not as good as too esoteric and internal. The issue is that Rory's success is based on a lie, which neither his publisher or his adoring wife, Dora, know: he did not write "The Window Tears", it a manuscript he found in a secret compartment in a old briefcase Dora bought for him in a Paris second-hand store. Rory was able to rationalize to himself the reason for taking the work as his own. The third writer is the actual writer of the manuscript that Rory stole. That man was an American soldier stationed in Paris during WWII. It was one of his platoon-mates who got him hooked on literature. But it was a personal tragedy in his life with his French wife, Celia, and their daughter in post-WWII Paris that led to the emotions that allowed him to write the story, which was and is so personal to him because of it.
Stuck in a creative rut far too long, the talented, yet struggling young author, Rory Jansen, sees his life take an unexpected turn when he stumbles upon a remarkable and long-forgotten manuscript concealed inside a leather portfolio. Battling with an annoying conscience, Rory will eventually yield to temptation--and in one of those spur-of-the-moment decisions--he will pass this masterful piece of writing as his own, catapulting himself right into the spotlight of the cut-throat literary scene. But, little by little, as the plagiarised work keeps burning inside his haunted heart, Rory will need to answer a single question: will he ever be as good as the masterpiece's unsung writer?
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 he was admiring from an antiques store. 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). 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.
