Eva Longoria already has her next project in the calendar! The 44-year-old star will be directing Fox Searchlight's Flamin' Hot, a biopic about Richard Montanez, the man who created the—wait for it—Flamin' Hot Cheetos! Sure the world knows about the crunchy snacks, but what they don't know is the aspirational story behind the man who created a food phenomenon around the entire world. This will be Eva's first time directing a feature film.
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Eva Longoria will direct Flamin' Hot and tell the story of Robert Montanez, the creator of the Flamin' Hot Cheetos
The film will follow Richard as he rises from humble beginnings to achieving the "American dream," according to Deadline. As the son of a Mexican immigrant, he grew up as a migrant farm worker who picked grapes in Southern California fields followed by a job working as a janitor at Frito-Lay. While at the food company, he came up with the idea of the Flamin' Hot Cheeto that ultimately catapulted him to a successful businessman. Inspired by the "flavors of his community," Richard also transformed the company worldwide.
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The Desperate Housewives alum will have an A-list team joining her on the project. The movie will feature a script by Charlie St. Cloud and October Sky writer Lewis Colick with Zahra Phillips overseeing the project for Franklin Entertainment and Taylor Friedman overseeing for Searchlight. Samuel Rodriguez will serve as the executive producer.
Besides this project, Eva is also set to direct and produce two movies for Universal—My Daughter's Quinceañera and 24/7, where she will also act alongside Kerry Washington.
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Robert Montanez went from being a migrant farm worker and janitor to becoming a successful businessman
This year, the multi-hyphenate has already flexed her directing chops on the small screen with ABC's Grand Hotel. "It was fun. I like to have control," she shared about getting behind the camera. “I love directing. I find it very satisfying. I feel like I’m reaching my full potential. I think women are natural producers. We’re multi-taskers, we get things done.”
