Jose Luis Torres II on City of Honor

Most Latinos are portrayed as gang members, rapists, drug dealers, or criminals. I wanted to develop a story that featured a Latino hero that the audience could believe in and champion for….

Jose Luis Torres II follows up his debut film, Killer Ex, with the procedural series City of Honor, with the pilot episode premiering Friday, June 20 in Burlington, New Jersey. Torres checked in with Journal of NoirCon to discuss the new series and connections to his debut.

Your previous work has been in the martial arts genre. Can you discuss what inspired you to make a crime series?

I have always been fascinated by police dramas. I mean who doesn’t like Law and Order or Blue Bloods? I was truly inspired by the 90’s show NY Undercover. It was the first time I seen a lead Latino and African American as the heroes in a police show. In all honesty, since then I always wanted to be involved with and write a crime show. My father was a 30-year career locksmith for the NJ Department of Corrections and my grand father was a correctional officer as well. I always wanted to tell a story but from my point of view as a Latino male.

I imagine the revenge thriller theme of Killer Ex was an inspiration.

Killer Ex was such a great experience for me. Director Jim Towns was really a great role model for me to learn from for my first movie. There were so many cool things about that project. But yes, it did in fact help me develop my own ideas for a film project.

Can you discuss certain aspects of Killer Ex and its marital arts content that inspired the new series?

It was a lot of fun getting to have the multiple fight scenes in Killer Ex. Each character had their own fighting style. While City of Honor is a crime drama, I wanted to keep the fight scenes [in this series] intense and realistic, less spinning kicks and more close quarter combat which relates directly to law enforcement or military training. The main character Dante Perez has a unique fighting style, much different than Victor Reyes from Killer Ex. I think fans and martial artists will enjoy the change of pace.

Why did you choose to make the police the main focus? I’m curious if you ever considered a story focusing on criminal characters. 

My main focus was to challenge the normal trends in film. Most Latinos are portrayed as gang members, rapists, drug dealers, or criminals. I wanted to develop a story that featured a Latino hero that the audience could believe in and champion for.

You are now in the directing chair. How has adapting to this role been for you? 

Jim is an amazing writer and director. We formed a great working relationship during Killer Ex, and I vowed to continue working with him again. I knew he was an amazing writer, so I approached him with my screen story for the series. He was a perfect collaborator who was able to transform my scenario into a script. I think a lot of people with be impressed by City of Honor.

You are now in the directing chair. How has adapting to this role been for you? 

It has been surreal. I had alot of ideas and developed my own processes to develop my story telling on film. It was such a great experience. Since I wrote the story, I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like. The challenge was when I was in front of the camera as I played the lead Dante Perez. That was the most difficult part changing between each role. I actually loved the experience. Im looking forward to directing in other projects.

Did any specific scenes from Killer Ex shape your approach to directing? 

Killer Ex was the first time I fought on screen. It was an awesome experience but I was probably my worst critique. That experience fueled me to want to do better and actual control my shot per say. 

Can you discuss how you co-direct or collaborate with the cinematographer? 

Working with William Wursz and Daryn Davidson have been truly and amazing experience. They have allowed me to set my shots but also guide me on things that I may not have experience in. I was able to review every shot and make sure I liked the take. It was a great process. I’m looking forward to working with them on multiple projects. 

And the big question: do you plan to direct again, after experiencing all the rewards…and stresses? (Laughs)

Absolutely! I love being in front of and behind the camera. I’m looking forward to honing my skills and creating more projects. I’m actually hoping to work on a feature film by the end of the year while also direct the remaining five episodes of City of Honor. On June 27, City of Honor will be dropping on various streaming platforms.

Tickets to the premiere in Burlington, NJ can be purchased here.