Zombie Reign
[ZR] - also known as THE OATH - is a failed horror/zombie/action film [and/or series] project written and directed
by Ramiro "Henry" Arrieta-Mireles Avendano. It was the only feature film [or series]
idea ever attempted in development and/or production by the director. What the
story or plot to this monstrous pipe dream was all about is just about anyone’s
guess. But what is known about the story is that it was supposed to be about
the military side of life just before a zombie apocalypse happens and how a
group of people, led by a Marine Officer
named Alvarez, who got together to fight and survive after the apocalypse occurs. Zombie Reign was supposed to feature Ramiro
Arrieta-Mireles Avendano, Vincent Segovia, Cynthia Aline, Christopher Garrett,
Michelle Holland, Taeko Baird, Brett Wilson Sr., Melissa Dawn Smith, David
Perales Jr., Christopher Henry, Bobby Lee Osborn, Robert Lealies, Gigi Parker
Hudnall, Brett Wilson Jr., Laura Careterro, Lester James, and Elizabeth
Wilkinson, just to name a few.
Directed by Ramiro
Arrieta Mireles Avendano
Story by Ramiro
Arrieta Mireles Avendano
Starring Ramiro
Arrieta Mireles Avendano
Cinematography
by Ramiro Arrieta Mireles Avendano
Production Assistants Gigi Hudnell, Taeko Baird
Production
Company Holy Knight Productions
Countries United States
Language
English
Release Date NEVER
Budget
Zombie Reign [ZR] was supposed to be an ultra-low independent film [or series] directed and
produced by Ramiro "Henry" Arrieta-Mireles Avendano between 2006-2016[?]. There were
other titles to this huge pile of crap, once it was called “The Oath,” then it
was changed to “Zombie Reign,” then it changed to “Zombie Reign:
Revelations,” then back to “The Oath”...and on and on and on. The director told his cast that the original script was something that he put together when he
was a young teen watching a movie on cable TV. The truth is, the script for ZR was stolen
from someone else and was then modified by Avendano to make it look like it was all
his. The director added characters to the original script, changing dialog often, and eventually the script lost it's focus on the story and plot. There were too many variances in the script writing, tons of cut and pasting, that all showed a pattern
of PURE deceit, as all this project ever was was an attempt to have the directors name, “Ramiro Avendano,” up in lights.
THE FIRST TO GET INVOLVED
Every rendition of this tremendous pipe-dream had a marvelous assortment of production scum that was
filled full of first time movie “know it all’s” and “secret connections” with imaginary people
in Hollywood [or “LA”] waiting to see their efforts. How Avendano kept bringing in good, talented people into each new remake of the ZR project,
over the course of ten years, is just one hell of a mystery and a possible story plot for an eventual film. Even today, the people
involved don’t want to admit that it was all a sham and some are
still holding on to the belief of this film project making millions of dollars off the tons and tons of video
snippets recorded over the course of four years. There are also a few who were once close to the director who still hold on to the fantasy that someone will find the footage and bring it to the right people to launch it out to the world.
Make no mistake, good and honest people were brought into this train wreck with a plethora of good intentions and wild promises of instant success. You’ve got to feel sorry for the ladies who
threw themselves onto the director [yes, the intimate kind], begging Avendano for spot in the BIGGEST…cough-cough…”film of the
century.” The circle of people who followed the director down this rabbit hole found nothing but heart ache and a cult-like symbiosis which they couldn't escape, as all that was left were the memories of being harassed or mistreated on set by a few of the directors inner circle elite.
MAGIC OF THE HYPE
Even before
the team on ZR had actual cameras and sound equipment to begin production,
there was an upper level hype that was being pushed out on Facebook and other internet mediums. Avendano first started this creep
show in Las Vegas, NV where he was probably eventually kicked out of town for it,
and then it moved to San Antonio were "EVERYBODY wants to be an instant star" was exposed to his sham. This
goof ball had everyone believing that he went to law school [in San Antonio?] and was to
become a lawyer, but that he was too focused on his real dream of becoming an “instant hit film maker" and making the film of his dreams, a zombie flick. With no money, no
real job, no real friends, a pissed off ex-wife with allegations of sexual child abuse, and no real infrastructure in
the film business, this idiot held extensive auditions, made casting calls, spread
the news about his movie production, got laid, ate for free, and best of all,
had a career in film making without ever making a film!
When the actors
and crew started to question the director about how his “dream” could become a reality without
any real film equipment, Avendano would put together a nice looking pitch video
for ZR, made with Quicktime Movie Maker [which is not even Hollywood standard],
and he would bedazzle his cast and crew with mesmerizing hopes that this thing was
truly going to work. Of course, he had help. With the saucy looks of Cynthia
Aline-Chamblin and Taeko Baird by his side, steaming up the cast and reinforcing them
with the dreams of real success, what person could pass up taking a chance to work with these lovely ladies? If details
needed to be hashed out, Avendano would send out another go-to girl, Gigi Hudnall, to reinforce the
legality of the entire production and why things were being kept in such low-key
fashion. This is absolutely no lie, and many of the cast members who were
finally able to strip themselves away from this clan of deadbeats can give
you even more gory details about how they were controlled with noting but talk
and hype. Of course, the ones that don't want to talk about it are either the ones that also got scammed out of money or they are still holding on to hope and don't want to piss Avendano off.
THE INNER CIRCLE
Not to beat
a dead horse [again], but for years, Avendano was seen editing the ZR movie on his
personal laptop; but no one ever saw one second of what he was actually editing. Even
worse, those closest to him never saw a segment of the movie that was being
edited and put together by this breathtakingly awesome first time director. The
pathetic mentality of a few in his inner circle kept fueling the fires of future success through
highly aimed hopes and dreams; all of which were never going to come to
fruition. With personalized social circles, Avendano became a godlike entity
who would promise so much success if one just simply followed him, listened to
his word, and believed in his dream just like everyone else around him. His people began to give to him freely without him asking for anything. He was, and still is, untouchable to blame by his deepest followers.
TENSION SURFACES FROM AN UNLIKELY SOURCE
Then, like a bad sub plot, the entire ZR film project fell under scrutiny when a couple of losers by the names of Tim Miller, and an out of state idiot, Johnny Lepper [of Buffalo, NY], got involved in a smear campaign against Avendano. They both alleged a ton of wrong doings against the amateur director and provided falsified evidence of text messages and background checks insisting that Avendano had conspired to commit fraud, that he had a spotty past, and that he had sexual assault charges made against him on a previous film project. Even farther, these two bozo's were able to get their claims published in the local publication of the San Antonio Current with the help of staff writer, Kiko Martinez, who slandered the director openly. All of their allegations in the article were were proven false and slanderous, leaving The Current to settle out in civil court against a lawsuit filed by the director in San Antonio, TX. But Avendano didn't need anyone outside of his production team trying to help ruin his reputation, he was destined to eventually do that all by himself.
GREENER PASTURES IN LAS VEGAS
Things really got really ugly the night after a ZR: Revelations film premiere in San Antonio fell flat on it's face even before the opening credits rolled. The shyster director was bold enough to pre-sell DVDs of the ill fated film to his own cast and crew, and then he ran off with the money and hid at his mothers home in shame. Shortly after that, Avendano packed up
his goods and moved back to Las Vegas, where he sat quietly for a time;
slowly building up his new army of cast and crew on the substandard movie idea and script he still had in his possession. Then, when the time finally came where Avendano was on the set of his new zombie film project, and with the help of an investor found by one of his old loyal
cronies who also wanted to be an instant star, Lester "Les" James. This investor pumped a load of cash into Avendano’s “dream film project” – and some began to feel that this
could finally be it? Was this the answer to all of the promises Avendano made to so
many people in the recent past? Oh, and you know that he had reached out to the old folk who
once supported him in San Antonio, asking them to come out to Las Vegas and help him on a now "legitimate" production of the film.
He told his old cast and crew from ZR that he was
going to pay up on his old promises, but only a few listened to this bravado. Some who actually rejoined him on the set
of “The Oath” in Las Vegas were Christopher Garrett, Melissa Dawn Smith,
Bobby Osborn, Lester James, and a few others. The rest seemed to have learned
their lesson the first time and gotten smart to the directors real ploy of lies and
stayed distant. But even though distant, those left behind in San Antonio still held on to the BIG dream of having success and making millions of dollars, so they could retire and not have to work anymore.
BUILDING THE HYPE AGAIN
Again though,
it was only a matter of time before Avendano began to gloat and over-hype this new
rehashed pipe-dream. The new cast and crew of The Oath [in Las Vegas] was excited to be receiving a
paycheck and getting on this wild ride that would eventually lead them to “stardom.” The director had people running around training all the time with airsoft weapons. He
boldly presented videos of himself on Facebook, running around and enjoying the splendor
pretending to be training like real Special Ops military men. You think he was doing this
for hype?...No sir, he was doing this to show those people back in San Antonio that this new venture was "the real deal” and that those who stayed behind were missing
out. [*] He was now a master scam artist, even using his "inner circle" to help him procure true working professionals in film to assist in the production of "The Oath" in Las Vegas, NV; one of them was veteran actor, Tony Todd, who was paid handsomely for his ten minutes of work. The best thing is, those professionals quickly realized the sham and walked away from the project before they became too deeply involved.
LAS VEGAS EASILY FELL PREY
Think about this; Avendano had big cash for a movie budget, but he spent a majority of it on
himself, his wife, his mother; eating expensively, tossing cash about in Las Vegas like it was growing on trees...like having herpes. It was only going to be a matter of time before the director had a relapse of "the stupids," and he would fall flat on his face again. And he did just that. First, after he ran out of budget money, he pawned off all of his studio equipment, just to use the money to buy more lavish foods from fancy restaurants. When some of the smarter actors begin to question his motifs, Avendano never gave a straight answer, and then began to slowly cut people off from his inner circle.
All of the directors crude decision making began to worry the cast and crew. His narrow minded actions were not only destroying all the work the actors put into the film, but he was also ruining the names of some good people in Las Vegas who initially supported him blindly; those being Socorro Jones, Cheryl Prater, Tonya Todd, TJ Wimbs, Aaron Castillo, Scott Harris, and a few others. By the time this group got together, shared notes, and tried to arrange a meeting at Jones' home to talk about what Avendano [or Roe] was actually perpetrating, it was too late. Even though part of this group of actors claimed to be in contact with the prime investor [via phone calls and Zoom meetings] for over nine months in 2020, hoping the investor would come and save them, the investor proved to be just as worthless as Avendano and never took a stand to make things right. As a matter of fact, the investor seemed to also be afraid of Avendano, almost as if the director had something to use against the investor that could being him down. [*]
The problem with the investor was that he was preoccupied with sponsoring another film production in Texas, claiming to several people in Las Vegas that he was working hard to keep his other production there in-line, due to having a director and crew who didn’t know what they were doing on set. What the actors in Las Vegas didn’t know was that the investor had never produced, properly invested, or made a movie in his life and that he was stringing the actors in Vegas along just to bring a “heroes attention” to himself, just like Avendano did. In truth, the other film he sponsored in Texas was HAVOC 114; a production where he had absolutely no say, the film was already “in the can” and entering post editing; and which would eventually win a ton of international indie awards. [*]
Right after this, going into December of 2020, the director released news that The Oath was scheduled to be released nation-wide, but for only two days. He claimed that he was going to welcome the cast to one of the many premieres of the films release. Of course, no one bought it and Prater made sure that the director knew it. The director had over stepped his own B.S. and his production was on the verge of losing everyone...except for Jones, who would hold on to the bitter end, even after she complained to her staff that her reputation was "on the line" with this disastrous pipe dream of a film; commendable to some, to others just more proof that some people couldn’t let go of the directors “possible” chance at success.
WAS THE DREAM NOW OVER?
What did the director learn from this
new shit show; that there’s always some sucker out there who desires instant
fame and money, MORE than he did. And it’s a fact that Avendano didn’t lose an
ounce of sleep over any of his decisions.
HOW WORKING WITH AVENDANO EFFECTED PEOPLE
What
about the people back in San Antonio who once supported Avendano in the
cult-like venue of mutual existence in the now faded dream? What effect of being
exposed to someone else’s pipe dream going to do to them? Well, Brett Wilson Sr learned to gloat about his acting accomplishments and he became a person trying to fill his ambition of being an "instant star"
in any project that came his way. Recently, and with so much hype, he had to
jump on board the fame-train and he claimed credit in parts of film
projects that just weren’t true. On IMDB, he claimed he was a “second assistant
director” on the film Praying Mantis, which he wasn’t. He also claimed to be a
“co-creator” and “co-writer” to Havoc 114, which he definitely wasn’t. He was
so consumed with the idea of being some huge talented actor that he nominated
himself for “best actor” in Havoc 114's Independent Film Festival run, when he was at best only a supporting
actor. Today, he’s directed his first feature film that has won some independent film awards and, of course, it was the best film since Swiss cheese was ever invented. So yeah,
Wilson Sr learned a lot from Avendano about hype and boasting a project that was far
from actually being perfect.
What about
the other San Antonio supporters, you might ask? Well, the word is if Taeko Baird is in a
film project, there’s always some type of drama that follows it. And yep, she’s also in
Wilson Sr’s new indie film that has and will also go nowhere, even though someone has
filled their heads with the idea that there’s a "distribution deal" in the works
and millions of dollars are riding on it. But if Baird is in this film as well, and if she’s personally involved with any part of the management, its a sure bet that the film project will suffer from her idiocy of needing to know everything in the film business. Well, what she also learned from hanging out
closely with Avendano is to always keep copies of contracts and legal work that can be quickly spruced up, copy and
pasted, to make it seem authentic, original, but more importantly, look legitimately legal.
Gigi Hudnall
has tried to play it safe by laying low after the failed ZR premiere in San
Antonio; a smart move if you ask me. And what was her relationship with
Avendano?...well, sources say it was pretty deep and personal. She was in
charge of selling DVDs at the ZR premiere and collecting all the money sales.
When the premiere failed, she didnt even attempt to pay back the money she so eagerly accepted. And she was in deep enough to have her and Baird constantly fighting over the scraps
of power and position to stand at Avendano’s side when ZR made the big bucks.
Who won that fight we’ll never know, but it was Cynthia Aline-Chambliss who eventually married
Avendano, trumping out everyone wanting to be at his side, but she too got smart and eventually [and very smartly] divorced him for greener pastures. Aline-Chambliss is now said to be happy and a mommy with a good husband who truly cares for her.
SO, WHAT NOW?
In the
end, this ZR movie, plus The Oath, were never made. No one ever saw a completed film nor was anyone ever given copies of the film to help some of the actors bolster their own demo reels.
The twenty-something minutes of crap that was actually previewed just never had a chance of standing on its own, even as a web series. The sound was
bad, the film format was not of any film standard I’ve ever seen, and there was
a bunch of badly planned green screen moments that were absolutely hilarious and not prepared properly. Constructive
criticism is sometimes the best medicine for first time filmmakers to realize
where their skills actually lie. For this
director to work on ZR for over ten years, just goes to show that Avendano was
too chicken-shit to show anyone the real truth about his dream; that he
couldn’t direct or capture anything on film to help save his life.
Anyone can look back at all of the
actors, new and old, who brought so much talent to his pipe dream that it will make anyone truly wonder who was building up all the hype in San Antonio and Las
Vegas…surely, it was all the people who sold their souls and wanted instant
fame.
The only good thing that came out of ZR and The Oath were the circle of friends who bonded together over time and became small pockets of tightly knit family, who often still contact each other for support, giving each other updates on the happenings in their lives.
RIP Zombie Reign.
BLOG WRITERS NOTE: Two solid years of
investigating this useless piece of shit project and every event stated on this
wiki has documentation and witnesses to prove it.
