A factory custodian is inspired to turn a snack food into a worldwide sensation in Director Eva Longoria’s biographical drama, Flamin’ Hot.
Based on Richard Montañez’s memoir, A Boy, a Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive, Longoria’s film tells the true story of how the former Frito Lay janitor disrupted the food industry by channeling his Mexican heritage to turn Flamin' Hot Cheetos from a snack into an iconic global pop culture phenomenon.
On June 3, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Longoria discussed the making of Flamin’ Hot during a Q&A moderated by Director Patricia Cardoso (El Paseo De Teresa).
During the conversation, Longoria revealed how she was able to secure the project for her feature directing debut when others were interested in making the film.
“It’s hard to get a job when you don’t have the body of work to prove you can do the job, and you can’t get the body of work because you can’t get the job. It had to be me. It had to be my lens. I am Richard Montañez. I really sold them on the idea that this story had to be authentic because if it wasn’t authentic, people would smell it a mile away and see through it. It’s a love letter to the Mexican-American community.”
She also disclosed her collaborative directing style. “For me, camera choreography is driven by emotion. I was so grateful for the talent I had. My mantra is 'best idea wins.' I have no ego. It’s not my way. I have a vision and I stick to that vision, but that’s the reason you hire your team because you want people smarter around you to have these amazing ideas.”
Longoria’s other directorial credits include the movie for television Glamorous; the documentaries La Guerra Civil and Latinos Living the American Dream; the pilot episode of Gordita Chronicles; the mini-series Eva Longoria’s Versus; and episodes of Why Women Kill, The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia, Grand Hotel, Black-ish, The Mick, LA to Vegas, Jane the Virgin and Devious Maids. Alongside Directors Jody Margolin Hahn and Jeff Melman, she was a 2021 Daytime Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Directing Team for a Daytime Fiction Program for Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love.
Longoria has been a DGA member since 2015.