How Julio Torres Created HBO’s ‘Fantasia’

when The Espucci Family In 2022, the show was canceled, and there were cries of disappointment from the industry and fans of the beloved series. The news threatened a certain disillusionment, but fans didn’t know at the time that the creators Julio Torres There are many secrets. The writer first became famous for his work Saturday Night Live The creator of digital shorts such as Papyrus and The Actress, he is currently hard at work on his first feature film and a new series. Problematists Released this spring, the new series will be ghost, The show will open the ATX Television Festival on May 30 and premiere on Max on June 7.

Written, directed and starring Torres, the series tells the story of the eponymous character’s quest for a lost earring. The Hollywood Reporter Ahead of the premiere, we find out how to navigate the vagaries of the industry, and the true events that inspired the new series.

From the outside, this seems like a strange choice. high pressure Cancel The Espucci Family Also greenlit your other show – did you guys have any discussions about why they only went ahead with one show and not the other?

To me, these are definitely two different things. Each show has different executives, and while they know what the other team is doing, one decision doesn’t seem to inform the other team. I actually get the idea ghost While I was trying to write the delayed second season The Espucci FamilyWhen we had to pause production during the pandemic, I spent a week in fear and sadness, mourning what I thought life would be like, and then I started writing. ghost. It gives me something to look forward to every day.

Do you always have a whirlwind of ideas in your head? How do you know which ideas to pursue and when?

I have feelings for all my ideas, I love them all, but I leave it to the industry to decide which one gets implemented first. I’ll work wherever they ask me to. I’ve lost some of my innocence when it comes to the business of art. Problematists Coming out gave me the opportunity to learn about the field, and I began to understand how my work could be seen in the context of the media. I still think it’s a miracle that any of my projects have been successful, because I think ghost When executives sit down and think about what the ideal product is, the answer is not ghost. Feeling unconstrained by market or corporate expectations.

How did you start developing ghost?

I miss the past Saturday Night LiveI wanted to do a skit show that was technically a sketch show, but I was wondering what my version would look like? As I was thinking about it, I literally lost an earring at the New Year’s Eve ball and realized that would be a fun thread to run through the different stories.

I think I can pick out a sketch like “Julio” Saturday Night LiveBut have you honed your own unique style while on the show?

When I started doing stand-up, I did what I thought a comedian should do at that first open mic performance. And then when I started doing stand-up, I did something similar. Saturday Night LiveI wrote a few (failed) versions of the sketch and it felt like Saturday Night LiveI felt like I wasn’t doing that well, so I thought, what if I used my own humor, like I was doing in stand-up at the time? That really worked. So I carved out a little corner for myself – everyone else was doing something, and I was here doing something else.

How did your creative partnership with Dave McCary begin?

Producer Saturday Night Live He had a great instinct for which director would be best for which script, and they paired Dave and me time and time again, and we became friends. A lot of what I learned about directing came from watching him direct my digital shorts. So when I had the opportunity to direct myself, it made sense to have him there as an ally on set every day.

What you learned Problematists This affects the way you create. ghost?

I brought back a lot of the same collaborators—our composer, our editor. I got a feel for the dynamics of film and learned how to make a show feel free and instinctive but not confusing. Or at least that was my goal. I also learned some really technical stuff, like knowing what to prioritize on set and how to best direct myself.

Is there any actor you most wanted to cast?

Tilda (Swinton) did a cameo in a voiceover. For a while we thought she could do it, but she was so busy and she was filming something. We premiered Problematists We talked about how to shoot something with a green screen at SXSW in 2023 ghost In between press interviews. Everybody was so excited, and then I was like, wait, what are we doing? We can’t shoot here for a lot of reasons. But there are a lot of actors in the show that I love. I’ve always been a fan of Rosie Perez. I loved working with Alexa Demme, we really clicked. I think she’s brilliant. Julia Fox is just so wonderful. Dominique Jackson is also someone I’ve never met, but I’m very interested in her work, and she’s really a delightful person.

What are you most looking forward to when this drama airs?

I’ve been asking myself lately how I measure success. I think doing the kind of work that makes me want to do the things that I want to do – if that thing becomes a special little thing for someone, or if a Halloween costume is born out of it, then that’s a good measure of success for me.