Flamin' Hot Cheetos... the movie?
Eva Longoria to direct movie about Flamin' Hot Cheetos creator Richard Montanez.
The creator of the spicy Cheetos will get his own movie thanks to Eva Longoria.
The inspiring story about the janitor who came up with the idea for Flamin' Hot Cheetos will finally hit the big screen. Actor and director Eva Longoria (Devious Maids) is set to direct a Fox Searchlight movie about Flamin' Hot Cheetos creator Richard Montanez.
The movie entitled Flamin' Hot will tell the tale of the son of a Mexican immigrant who grew up in a migrant labor camp in Southern California, and later came to work for Frito-Lay as a janitor.
Inspired by flavors he loved as a kid, including his favorite street food snack of Elote (Mexican grilled corn with lime and chilli), Montanez took plain Cheetos home and experimented with putting chili powder on them.
Montanez then took extra initiative and decided to pitch the product idea to the Frito-Lay CEO at the time, Roger Enrico. Montanez's creation of super-spicy Cheetos impressed the CEO, and the rest is history.
"Longoria reportedly beat out multiple directors for the job after impressing Franklin and Fox with her authentic approach to portraying Richard and (his wife) Judy Montanez's inspiring story," according to Deadline on Monday.
Screenwriter Lewis Colick (October Sky) penned the script. DeVon Franklin (Woodlawn) will serve as producer with Samuel Rodriguez (Breakthrough) as the executive producer.
No official details on casting or movie release date has been announced. Fox Searchlight didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
