Land Of The Free And Home Of The Flaming Hot And Dusty
By Mitch Berg
America asks “when will Hollywood make movies about things that genuinely matter to us?”.
Hollywood answers; a biopic about the “only in America” origin story of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and the broom-to-mahogany-row story of its inventor – directed Eva Longoria:
Longoria is officially attached to direct Flamin’ Hot, a biopic about Richard Montanez, the man who the invented iconic snack, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. DeVon Franklin (Breakthrough) will produce through a deal at Fox, and the film is slated to be a Fox Searchlight title.
Flamin’ Hot tells the story of Richard and Judy Montanez. The son of a Mexican immigrant, Richard rose from humble beginnings, working as a janitor at Frito Lay when he developed the idea for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, inspired by the flavors of his community. The spicy snack (and twist on an already popular brand) not only revitalized Frito Lay, but disrupted the food industry and created a pop culture phenomenon.
Is it a move to virtue signal to the Latino community?
Do Cheetos leave dust on your fingers and everything else they touch? Of course it is. The devil is in the execution – and given that it’s Hollywood, the odds are overwhelming that it’s gonna be crap (if it’s ever released).
But one can hope. The world could use a good ” this is what America is all about” story.
August 29th, 2019 at 8:15 am
It’s sad that people can’t celebrate Americans, but instead must sort them into hyphenated Americans. For example, here’s an article on Latinos who influenced successful businesses. Yay!
https://wearemitu.com/things-that-matter/american-businesses-influenced-latinos/
Wait – what’s with number six. Budweiser? Wasn’t he a German immigrant? Yes, but one of the current Board members of the holding company that makes a bunch of beers (including Budweiser) is Brazilian. Number seven – Heinz – same thing. Number eight – the New York Times – owned by Carlos Sim, who owns the Mexican cell phone network. Number ten – Amazon – because the Jeff Bezos’ step-dad was an immigrant from Cuba.
The most striking thing about this list is how few occurred outside America. People from other places came here, where they became successful not because of where they came From, but because of where they came To. That’s what we ought to be celebrating.
August 29th, 2019 at 9:55 am
Flaming Hot Cheetos? Sounds like cultural appropriation to me.
August 29th, 2019 at 1:59 pm
You want a recent story that Hollywood did about only in America? Watch The Founder. Its the story of Ray Kroc and how he :”stole” (he bought them out fair and square, the movie doesnt portray it that way though, shockingly) the idea from the McDonald brothers. It was pretty good actually.
August 29th, 2019 at 7:22 pm
The man who developes the 3 day biodegradable Takis bag will become a wealthy man, and he will be responsible for revolutionizing clean streets in the hood.