There's Really A Flamin' Hot Cheetos Movie, And It Just Found Its Director

We're not sure which part of this news is more surprising: The fact that there's going to be a Flamin' Hot Cheetos movie called Flamin' Hot, or the fact that Eva Longoria has been tapped as director. Longoria may be best known as an actor, but she does have previous directorial experience in both television and film (via IMDB). It turns out she's just the person to bring the Flamin' Hot story to life, and Deadline reports that Longoria beat out the competition with her "authentic approach."

Rich Fury/Getty Images

What, exactly, is the story behind Flamin' Hot Cheetos? There's a human-interest aspect to Flamin' Hot Cheetos that you might not expect, and the movie is less about the snack food itself and more about the person who invented it.

The snack was invented not by some food scientist in a lab coat, but by Richard Montañez, who started working as a janitor at a Frito-Lay factory in California in 1976 (via The Fact Site). Montañez was determined to be more than just an average janitor, spending the time to get to know the other people working in the building and observing the plant's various operations in between his own shifts.

Then came the call that would change everything: Frito-Lay CEO Roger Enrico issued a message to all 300,000 of the company's employees, telling them that, in a time when sales were slumping, every employee should "act like an owner." This gave Montañez the confidence he needed to ask a salesman in the building if he could teach Montañez the ins and outs of the business.

Innovation struck when Montañez realized that Frito-Lay didn't have any hot and spicy products yet. Inspired by the flavor of elote, corn on the cob covered in chili powder, lime juice, cheese, and crema fresca or mayonnaise, Montañez took home some pre-cheese dusted Cheetos and coated them with his own spicy secret recipe. 

They were a hit with his friends and family, so Montañez did what was to him the logical thing: He called the CEO of Frito-Lay. Instead of being aloof, Enrico took the janitor's call, and was so impressed that he decided to meet with Montañez.

When Montañez presented his recipe to the higher-ups and they tasted the product, they knew it would be a hit. At the age of 26, Montañez had invented what would go on to be one of the company's most popular snacks, and today he's the VP of Multicultural Sales at PepsiCo America (via CNBC). 

Flamin' Hot doesn't yet have a release date, so keep your eyes peeled for more info as it comes. Clearly, it will be a movie worth watching if you, like so many others, love the spicy snack and a happy ending.