Mit Out Sound

A lost film. A legendary cast. And a final take that could tear them all apart.

• Pacific Book Award (Winner Best Fiction)
• National Indie Excellence Award (Finalist)
• Eric Hoffer Award (Finalist)

Emily Bennett never believed the rumor that Showdown—a 1950s Western supposedly starring John Wayne and James Dean—was real. But when she tracks down the reclusive film editor who may have stolen the original negative, her skepticism turns into obsession.

Determined to finish what history couldn’t, Emily assembles an unlikely cast: two uncannily gifted celebrity impersonators, a fierce and unrelenting director, and her estranged brother, a damaged actor with something to prove. Each of them carries scars from a fractured past, but none more than Emily herself—still reeling from the emotional wreckage of a father who never wanted her.

As production begins in the haunting landscapes of Arizona, strange parallels emerge between the film’s storyline and the crew’s off-screen relationships. Tensions erupt. Alliances shift. And an unexpected love triangle unearths secrets that refuse to stay buried.

What started as an audacious filmmaking gamble becomes a reckoning. With the cameras rolling and tempers flaring, Showdown threatens to become more than a movie—it might be their final shot at healing... or their most spectacular collapse.

When Rick Lenz retired as a stage and film actor (playing opposite Ingrid Bergman, John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Walter Matthau, Peter Sellers, etc.), his passion for drama refused to retire with him. Although he was an actor most of his life, he was also a seasoned writer. His plays have been produced Off-Broadway, on PBS television, and in regional theatres across the country. Rick's memoir North of Hollywood was called "masterful" by Writer's Digest. His first novel, The Alexandrite was named "one of the best books of the year" by Kirkus Reviews. The Alexandrite was followed by Hello, Rest of My Life (2021), A Town Called WHY (2023) and, most recently, Mit Out Sound (2024). Rick's books have won several awards, including, Readers Views (first place), the Chanticleer Somerset Grand Prize for Literary, Contemporary and Mainstream Fiction, an IPPY Award, and a Foreword Book of the Year.