Eva Longoria will make being cheesy look easy when her directorial debut, Flamin’ Hot, heats up the streaming charts on Hulu and Disney+ on June 9. This deal is the first time a new movie is available on both Disney-owned streaming services stateside. Additionally, Flamin’ Hot will steam on Disney+ overseas.
Longoria’s directorial debut focuses on the true story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), who grew up picking grapes in California. Still, after dropping out of school and working a series of odd jobs, Montanez began working as a janitor at Frito-Lay. Endeavoring to become the best janitor Frito-Lay ever had, Montanez also ventured outside his janitorial duties by spending time in the warehouse and learning all he could about the machines, the company, and its products. Montanez also noticed that none of Frito-Lay’s products were spicy or hot. Thanks to a broken appliance, the brilliant custodial worker could get his hands on some Cheetos without the cheese coating. After taking them home, he dusted them with his own homemade chili powder inspired by elote, a Mexican street food, and the spicy snack was a massive hit with his friends and family. Richard Montanez was then urged to share his creation, and he wound up calling Frito-Lay CEO Roger Enrico directly and pitched him on what would become Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, which are now Frito-Lay’s top-selling product. As for Montanez, he’s now an executive for PepsiCo (Frito-Lay’s parent company) in charge of multicultural sales across North America.
“I’m so excited for the world to see Flamin’ Hot on these two streaming platforms making this universal, inspirational story accessible to an even wider audience,” said Longoria. “Now everyone can celebrate the joy, power and heart of this film that also happens to uplift Latinos both in front of and behind the camera.”
“Eva’s inspiring film is a joy to experience and we could not be happier that it will now be available to even more families and audiences around the world,” added Searchlight Presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield.
“From the moment I found Richard Montanez’ story seven years ago, I knew it would resonate with and inspire audiences everywhere,” said producer DeVon Franklin. “I’m so grateful to Searchlight, Hulu, and now Disney+ for giving us this historic opportunity to bring his uplifting true story to over 200 million subscribers around the world!”
Mmm, I love Flamin’ Hot Cheetos! Flamin’ Hot‘ spiced things up at SXSW, and now it’s coming home to a broader audience. Inspiring stories like these help fuel the imaginations of tomorrow’s inventors, and I’m genuinely excited to watch Montanez’s story unfold.