The Skinny on Twilight Star's Dramatic Weight Loss

He didn't exactly pull a 50 Cent in the weight loss department, but Twilight wolf Alex Meraz did drop some major poundage recently for a movie role.
Meraz tells me heshed his muscular physique for his part as a local prisoner in The City of Gardens, a gritty drama based on the real-life story of an American surfer who was sent to a Peruvian prison after being wrongfully accused of drug trafficking.
How much weight did Meraz lose and how did he do it? Read on to find out...
Meraz, who is 5'11" and muscled up to 185 for the Twilight flicks, dropped about 45 pounds to play what he described as "an asshole prisoner who pisses on guys' heads."
 "I didn't want to look like a Ken doll, you know what I mean?" he said. "It's a Peruvian prison in the '80s, which is nothing like an American prison. There's not much food. There are definitely no free weights to work out with. So I couldn't have a gym body."
Meraz stopped lifting weights, did lots of cardio, reduced his meal portions and even went on a juice diet for some of the time.
"I could see my heart beat through my chest," he said.
He predicts it will take him another month to get back to his wolf weight. "It's been a slow arduous process," he said. "I have about 15 pounds."

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Carrie

Camilo Vila's The City of Gardens to Shoot in Los Angeles

Alicia Frankl, Dragon Tree Media, and Monty Fisher Four Fish Films are the production companies and personnel behind The City of Gardens a prison drama that puts "a young American surfer" in a Peruvian jail on bogus drug charges (Studio Matrix). Primary production for this feature has wrapped in Peru with further filming to take place in Los Angeles. Starring are John Robinson (Transformers), Alex Meraz (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse), Johnny Lewis (The Runaways), and Michael DeLorenzo (Nice Guys). An official website has launched for the film recently and those with an interest in a true story involving '80s intrigue and prison corruption can become a fan at the link below.

A partial synopsis for The City of Gardens here:

"The action drama, The City of Gardens, follows a blond Californian surfer, Wayne Montgomery (John Robinson), who is a fun loving beach bum escaping the influence of his wealthy and powerful father (James Remar). Wayne leaves his home in Beverly Hills for the enchantment of exotic Peru. Wayne’s carefree lifestyle and love affair with his beautiful girlfriend, Maritza, (Anahi De Cardenas), ends when he is framed during a political uprising. Framing turns into extortion in the sadistic prison" (Studio Matrix).

Director: Camilo Vila.

Writers: Monty Fisher and Camilo Vila.

Cast: Grant Bowler, Deborah Kara Unger, and Diego Acuna.

The City of Gardens website with a full synopsis:

The City of Gardens Homepage

The City of Gardens on Facebook (fan site):

The City of Gardens on FB

The Studio Matrix website and client list:

Studio Matrix

Advertise Here - Contact me Michael Allen at 28DLA
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Carrie

Website and stills for Alex Meraz’s film ‘City of Gardens’

The official website for The City of Gardens, which stars Alex Meraz, is now live. It features stills of the cast and a synopsis of the film.

The action drama, The City of Gardens, follows a blond Californian surfer, Wayne Montgomery (John Robinson), who is a fun loving beach bum escaping the influence of his wealthy and powerful father (James Remar). Wayne leaves his home in Beverly Hills for the enchantment of exotic Peru. Wayne’s carefree lifestyle and love affair with his beautiful girlfriend, Maritza, (introducing Anahi De Cardenas a Peruvian actress), ends when he is framed during a political uprising. Framing turns into extortion in the sadistic prison.

In the nightmarish prison, Wayne finds himself surrounded by a group of political activists and social misfits, including a schizophrenic who believes he is Jesus Christ (Grant Bowler) and an Icelandic devotee of Krishna, Jorge (Johnny Lewis). Wayne is forced to share a mattress with the animalistic beast that everyone calls Nicaragua (Alex Meraz) which leads to a confrontation between them.

In a desperate attempt to gain freedom, Wayne meets with Consul Powers (Debra Unger) whose hands are tied by the false drug charges. As Wayne’s naivety dissipates, another nemesis, the power hungry Lt. Gutierrez (Michael DeLorenzo), moves to break Wayne´s spirit, torturing him to extort money from his family. Left with few options, Wayne adopts a new ethic – engaging the Peruvian activists, sharing his gifts with them and learning the importance of faith through his sympathetic friend, Jorge (Johnny Lewis). Wayne challenges Lt. Gutierrez’s authority, confronting the depravity of corruption and abuse with his newfound spirit and courage. Wayne´s confrontation with Gutierrez propels the story to its final climax.

Via team-twilight via Source

xoxo
Carrie