The Movie About the Man Who Created Flamin' Hot Cheetos Has Cast Its Two Leads
Fox Searchlight and director Eva Langoria have found the two actors who will lead the cast of the upcoming film Flamin’ Hot, which will tell the true story of Richard Montanez, the man who created Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
Jesse Garcia (Quinceañera) will take on the role of Richard Montanez, and Annie Gonzalez (Gentefied) will play his wife, Judy.
The story for the film follows Montanez, "the son of an immigrant, who grew up as a migrant farm worker picking grapes in the fields of Southern California before becoming a janitor at Frito-Lay. It was while working at the company that Montanez came up with the idea to create Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, transforming the Frito-Lay brand into a pop culture phenomenon and disrupting the entire food industry in the process. Now commonly referred to as the Godfather of Multicultural Marketing, it was that initial idea that would spark a billion-dollar brand and catapult him from janitor to elite corporate executive."
Montanez took inspiration from his Mexican American heritage to create Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Longoria said in a statement, “It has been my biggest priority to make sure we are telling Richard Montañez’s story authentically. I am so happy to have two extremely talented and fellow Mexican-Americans on board in these pivotal roles. Jesse and Annie have a deep understanding of our community and will be able to help tell this story of great importance for our culture.”
The initial script for the film was written by Lewis Colick (October Sky) and Linda Yvette Chavez was recently brought onboard for revisions. Chavez is the creator of Netflix’s Gentefied, and she’s also adapting I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter at the streamer as well for America Ferrera’s upcoming directorial debut.
I enjoy stories like this, stories of innovation and people rising to the top. Montanez’s story is an inspirational one, and I’ll be looking forward to watching it brought to life for audiences to enjoy.
Source: Deadline