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Eva Longoria’s upcoming feature film, “Flamin’ Hot”, has a release date. The film marks Longoria’s feature directorial debut and is based on the life of Richard Montañez, who revolutionized the food industry with the invention of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
“Flamin’ Hot” follows Montañez, the son of a Mexican immigrant who gets a job as a janitor in Frito-Lay. Over his time in the company, Montañez drew inspiration from the flavors of his culture and his youth, and devised a flavor that disrupted the food industry and became one of the best selling snacks in the country.
In an interview with People, Longoria talked about why she decided to make this movie and why she found Montañez’s story so inspiring. “You look at this guy and you go, ‘Oh wait, he did that. So that means I can do that,’” she said. ”This is a hero. He’s not wearing a cape, but man, is this story powerful.“
Longoria also talked about setting out to make a story about a man and not a brand, which is not what interested her. “I’m doing the story of Richard Montañez, who happened to have a hand in creating the No. 1 snack in the world, which is a billion-dollar brand. Nobody knew this market better than Richard,” she said. “He was the first person to go, “You guys, we need to market differently to different cultures, to Hispanics, to African-Americans, Asian-American. Everybody appeals differently to different things. And this is what my community likes,” she said.
“Flamin Hot” stars Jesse Garcia, Dennis Haysbert, Tony Shalhoub, and Matt Walsh. It premieres on June 9th, on Hulu.