Searchlight Pictures has finally set a release date for Eva Longoria’s directorial debut feature Flamin Hot. The feature will stream exclusively on Hulu later this year. The feature is based on the life of Richard Montañez, who invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. The movie follows Jesse Garcia as Montañez, the son of a Mexican immigrant. He came up with the idea for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos inspired by the flavors of his community, and in turn, ended up disrupting the food industry forever.
Montañez landed a job as a janitor at Frito-Lay in 1976 at the age of 18 and decided he was going to be “the best janitor Frito-Lay had ever seen.” Determined to make his presence felt he took pride in his work and soon started to get to know the company’s products and inner workings better. Things changed for him when, in the mid-1980s, the company’s CEO issued a message to every employee to “act like an owner” in an effort to boost morale. Not knowing any better he gave the CEO a call to pitch his idea for a flavorful product, which we now know as Flamin Hot Cheetos, which made him a global phenomenon.
Longoria directs from a script by Lewis Colick and Linda Yvette Chávez. Taking pride in her community and showcasing excitement over the new feature Langoria said at the wrap of the production in August last year, “I’m so honored to have led this team in telling a beautiful story where people can see themselves in these characters and are inspired by the endless beauty and talent that is so rich in our community.” Sharing her excitement she said, “Every day we were on set, I was reminded again and again by our amazing cast and crew that our community is smart, creative and endlessly talented.”
