City Of Honor: An Interview with Jose Luis Torres II

Please tell us about the projects you worked on before making ‘City Of Honor’. How did you start, and how did you learn to make films?

The first film that I worked on was Killer Ex. It was an action themed movie that I played the lead Victor Reyes. It told the story of a retired assassin that is pulled out of retirement when his ex-girlfriend comes back into his life. It was a great project to work on. It was directed by my good friend Jim Towns. The film is currently available on Prime, Tubi, Fawesome, and Stash Action Tv. It was an independent film with a modest budget. I served as the Executive Producer on the project. I wore a variety of hats and learned a lot on set. It definitely gave me the bug to want to explore more behind the camera.

Tell us about ‘City Of Honor’. How do you describe it?

City of Honor tells the story of the West End Task Force that is lead by Det. Sgt Dante Perez who is dealing with the loss of his wife and son and navigates through doing his job and still raising his daughter. Its action packed with a great ensemble cast. The cast is very diverse and works extremely well together. Even on the first day of filming things just clicked. My original thought for this project was to put together a short film about 2 brothers navigating through their life in their city. I had always wanted to write a crime drama and what happened was things kinda of starting moving by themselves and started taking shape. I was able to put together the story for the first season and started moving from there. We just completed the pilot episode and will start filming the 2^nd Episode in August.

Please tell us about your favorite filmmakers.

My top 3 film makers/ directors would be Christopher Nolan, Chad Stahelski and Ryan Coogler. I know my choices are very diverse but each of them has a specific style that I love and appreciate. Nolan is known for his complex and block buster productions. Films like Inception, Dark Knight, and Oppenheimer are amazing. The action genre has been redefined by the John Wick series and that is because of Chad Stahelski. His unique blend of action and riveting stunts has propelled him and the action world into a frenzy. I think he was brilliant to tap into his stunt roots and develop these projects and create these awe aspiring action sequences. Finally, Ryan Coogler. I think he is just truly a genious.  What he did with the Black Panther and most recent Sinners is a something that others can take notes from. He has done things that were not the norm and showcased his form of story telling. I would love to meet him one day.

If you were given a good budget, what would be your ideal project?

I would love to develop an action drama focused on the Latino community that would allow me to put more Latino actors and Latino producers in the forefront. I think that unfortunately there are a variety of groups that are under represented in the film industry and I would love to make a positive impact on that with in the Latino Community.

Describe how you would ensure that production is on schedule. What steps would you take?

Pre- Production is key. You have to be on point and your cast and crew must be given the tools to be successful. I really tried to plan out and make sure during pre-production phases to make sure we covered as many things that we knew could come up as well as some things you hope would never come up. We all tried our best which I think helped everyone succeed.

What was the hardest part of making ‘City Of Honor’.

The Budget. Its so hard to maintain a specific level or look of your production if your not sure if you might have financing issues. I was always trying to stay within our means and not go over budget. Every dollar mattered and I didn’t have the liberty to make big mistakes.

If possible, tell us about your next work. What plans do you have for your future work?

Well I have a full slate that I am projected to do. City of Honor Ep 2- 6 are looking to film Aug through Oct 15. Then Nov 10 through Dec 15 we will start working on the sequel to Killer Ex- K2. In the beginning of 2026  (Jan – March) we will wrap K2 filming and our ultimate goal is to start filming Rise of the Dragon during Summer 2026.