Get ready this weekend to be inspired and motivated as Hulu’s FLAMIN’ HOT will be out streaming. The film tells the story of Richard Montañez, the Frito Lay janitor who channeled his Mexican American heritage and upbringing to turn the iconic Flamin’ Hot Cheetos that would change snack history in America.
The Eva Longoria-directed film will stream June 9, and stars Jesse Garcia as Montañez, as well as Annie Gonzalez, Dennis Haysbert, Tony Shalhoub, Matt Walsh, and Emilio Rivera, and is produced by DeVon Franklin.
It all started with Richard Montañez, who was a janitor at the Rancho Cucamonga Frito-Lay plant, where he thought adding some spice to Cheetos with chile powder. He contacted executives to pitch the snack and outsmarted corporate headshots, leading him to become a successful author and businessman, and put himself on the map.
We spoke with producer DeVon Franklin and Annie Gonzalez who plays Judy Montañez.
We spoke to DeVon and Annie about what it meant to be a part of this inspiring story, and their response to, including Frito-Lay themselves, who have tried to diminish Richard’s story and claimed others brought the Spicy Cheeto to life. We collectively encourage you to see the film to understand the origins and the inspiration behind this film. We also discuss what it was like working with Eva Longoria, who directed the film alongside DeVon, who produced it. Both Gonzalez and Franklin revealed that Longoria was a joy to work with and excellent at what she does.
We also touched on the importance of these stories to continue to inspire our communities to give generational access to the little man and make sure these stories get out.
Press play for the full interviews and make sure you watch Flamin’ Hot on June 9 on Hulu exclusively.