Eva Longoria’s “Flamin’ Hot” to Get Special Screening at the White House

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria is bringing the Flamin’ heat to the White House.

The 48-year-old Mexican American actress’ directorial debut film Flamin’ Hot, recently released on Hulu and Disney+, will get a special screening at the White House.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host the screening on the South Lawn of the White House, joined by Longoria, as well as the cast and crew of the film and Latino community leaders.

The film is based on the true story of a Frito-Lay janitor Richard Montañez (portrayed by Jesse Garcia) who tapped into his Mexican-American heritage to invent Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, which became a cultural phenomenon.

Annie Gonzalez, Dennis Haysbert, Emilio Rivera, Tony Shalhoub, Matt Walsh, Pepe Serna, Bobby Soto, Jimmy Gonzales, Brice Gonzalez, Vanessa Martinez, Fabian Alomar, Mario Ponce, Hunter Jones also star in the Searchlight Pictures film, which debuted on the streaming sites on June 9.

The White House hosted a screening last month of the Disney+ series American Born Chinese, and in February for Till. The screenings traditionally have been for projects that are tied to social issues, including diversity and equality.

Longoria has long been active in Democratic politics, having campaigned for Biden in 2020 and spoken at the last three Democratic National Conventions.

Eva Longoria’s “Flamin’ Hot” to Stream on Hulu & Disney+ on June 9

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria’s (flamin’) hot directorial debut will debut on two streamers this summer.

Following the world premiere at SXSW of Flamin’ Hot, Searchlight Pictures’ feature directorial debut by the 48-year-old Mexican American actress, producer and director, the film will stream on both Hulu and Disney+ on June 9.

It’s the first time that a new movie has been made available on both of the Disney-owned OTT services stateside. The filmwill stream on Disney+ overseas.

The film is based on the true story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), a Frito-Lay janitor who disrupted the food industry by channeling his Mexican-American heritage to turn Flamin’ Hot Cheetos from a snack into an iconic global pop culture phenomenon.

“I’m so excited for the world to see Flamin’ Hot on these two streaming platforms making this universal, inspirational story accessible to an even wider audience,” director Longoria said. “Now everyone can celebrate the joy, power and heart of this film that also happens to uplift Latinos both in front of and behind the camera.”

Added Searchlight Presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield. “Eva’s inspiring film is a joy to experience and we could not be happier that it will now be available to even more families and audiences around the world.”

Producer DeVon Franklin said: “From the moment I found Richard Montanez’ story seven years ago, I knew it would resonate with and inspire audiences everywhere. I’m so grateful to Searchlight, Hulu, and now Disney+ for giving us this historic opportunity to bring his uplifting true story to over 200 million subscribers around the world!”

The film is a Franklin Entertainment Production written by Lewis Colick and Linda Yvette Chávez (Gentefied creator-writer).

It stars Garcia as Richard, Annie Gonzalez as his wife, Judy; Emilio Rivera as Richard’s father, Nacho; Dennis Haysbert as Richard’s mentor, Clarence; and four-time Emmy winner Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico.

Other cast members include Matt Walsh (Veep), Bobby Soto (Narcos) and Pepe Serna (Scarface).

Annie Gonzalez to Star as the Late Jenni Rivera in Family-Authorized Biopic “Jenni”

Posted on March 11, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Annie Gonzalez will be portraying a late banda legend…

The Latina actress will star in an authorized biopic about the life of Jenni Rivera has been greenlit at ViX.

In addition to starring, Gonzalez will also executive produce the film.

Filming of Jenni (wt) is underway in Bogota, Colombia, and will be completed in Los Angeles.

The project is set to premiere exclusively via ViX and in select movie theaters in the United States and Mexico later this year.

Jenni (wt) will follow Rivera’s journey from her humble beginnings in Long Beach, California, to her meteoric rise to the top of the charts, and her final days before her tragic and unexpected death. The film will also share a look at the struggles she endured in her personal life and how she became the artist fans all know and love today, and how she persevered and found strength from within.

The streamer notes, Jenni is a story of resilience and bravery that shows the building blocks of what made Jenni Rivera—also known affectionately as “La Diva De La Banda”— who she was and the remarkable legacy she left behind.

“My siblings and I are very excited about this biopic and we know our mother’s story will impact generations to come,” Jacqie Rivera, daughter of Jenni Rivera and CEO of Jenni Rivera Enterprises said in a statement. “It has been an uphill battle, but we are happy to see one of our mom’s dreams come to fruition. Although we still haven’t gotten used to seeing someone portray our mother, we have faith Annie will do a great job.”

As a multiple award-winning artist—including multiple Billboard Music Awards, 22 Billboard Latin Music Awards, 18 Lo Nuestro Awards, and four Latin Grammy nominations— Rivera is not only known as one of the best-selling Regional Mexican artists of all time but also for her role in disrupting cultural precedent by crossing into banda, a male-dominated music genre and eventually into pop music, where her presence posthumously continues to shine. Rivera died in a plane crash in 2012.

“I am beyond honored to portray the essence of this phenomenal survivor that is Jenni Rivera who despite adversity at every turn was never a victim and showed her daughters, her family, and her audience what grace, forgiveness, and true authenticity is— liberating us all,” Gonzalez shared. “Jenni’s messages of feminism, civil rights, and nonconformity within her music were well before her time and made space for all of us to feel empowered. With the support of the Rivera family, I cannot wait to help tell the beautiful story and the impactful legacy of what Jenni means to me personally and what it will mean to women and Latinas everywhere.”

Manuel Uriza will star opposite Gonzalez in the role of Pedro Rivera, Jenni’s father, and Regional Mexican entrepreneur. The cast also includes Cinthya Carmona (East Los High) as Jenni Rivera’s eldest daughter, Chiquis Rivera, Jero Medina (Narcos: Mexico) and Miguel Angel Garcia (The Long Game) who will dually portray Trino Marín, Rivera’s first husband and father of her three eldest children at later and earlier stages in his life, respectively.

Additionally, Gabriela Reynoso (Si Nos Dejan) will be portraying Jenni’s mother Rosa Saavedra, J.R. Villarreal (Ultra Violet) will play Juan “Cinco” Lopez, Jenni’s late second husband, and newcomer Tatiana Juarez will portray Rivera during her early years.

“ViX is thrilled to be the official home and distributor of this powerful story about Jenni Rivera. Our commitment to this project is paramount and, along with a fantastic production team and director, we know we will have a film that will captivate our audiences,” stated Augusto Rovegno, Senior Vice President of Content ViX at TelevisaUnivision.

Gigi Saul Guerrero (Culture Shock) directs from a screenplay by Shane McKenzie (Bingo Hell).

Gonzalez is gearing up to promote Flamin’ Hot, the Eva Longoria-directed Searchlight Pictures film about how Frito Lay janitor Ricardo Montañez climbs the ranks at work and creates the spicy Cheeto snack. Flamin’ Hot premieres at SXSW on March 11 followed by a wide release via Hulu in June. The Chicana actress portrays the character of Judy, Montañez’s wife, opposite Jesse Garcia.

She also recently starred in Illegally Brown alongside Jessica Marie Garcia from filmmaker, Gabby Revilla Lugo, which is currently playing on the film festival circuit. Additionally, Gonzalez can next be seen in the upcoming independent thriller Body Language and an untitled Ethan Coen project.

Gonzalez is best known for her portrayal of Lidia Solis in the Netflix comedy series Gentefied and her guest roles in Apple’s Mr. Corman, Starz’s Vida, NBC’s Good Girls, Showtime’s Shameless, and FX’s American Horror Story, among other credits.

Eva Longoria Named to Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch” List for 2023

Posted on January 8, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria is earning attention for her skills behind the camera…

The 47-year-old Mexican American actress, producer and activist has earned a spot on Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch in 2023 list.

For more than a quarter-century, Variety has canvassed the field of emerging filmmaking talents for the artists whose voices set them apart: directors with an original point of view and the chops to go the distance. The idea: to identify talent before they “pop,” although in some cases, they’ve already started racking up awards — like Charlotte Wells, who won the Gothams’ Breakthrough Director prize shortly after being selected for the list.

Six of these filmmakers have yet to unveil their latest work to the world, and we’re grateful to them for giving us an early look. Three — Elijah Bynum, Laurel Parmet and Niza Mansoor — will debut their films later this month at the Sundance Film Festival.

Others, such as Longoria and Jingyi Shao, have made crowd-pleasers that will be released later in the year.

Eva Longoria
Flamin’ Hot
How long has the Desperate Housewives star wanted to direct?
“I’ve always been a director who fell into acting,” insists Longoria, adding, “I feel like I’m more comfortable behind the camera. I’ve really touched every rung of the ladder: I started with short films, I did a documentary, I did half-hour TV, I did multi-cam, I’ve done one-hours and pilots.” But starring on the hit series gave Longoria a special understanding of how the process works, a chance to learn at a budget far bigger than she would have to make her debut. “I used ‘Desperate Housewives’ as my film school. I paid attention to where the lights go, cameras, lenses. That was a decade of my life,” says Longoria, who found mentors along the way, including Ron Howard, who produced her second short film.

“My first feature was supposed to be this comedy at Universal with me and Kerry Washington.” But another project she was preparing came first, one rooted in a side of Los Angeles she insisted on showing authentically: “Flamin’ Hot,” about Richard Montañez, the former gangbanger turned Frito-Lay janitor who came up with the idea for the company’s super-spicy (and ultra-profitable) line of snacks.

“I like to produce with purpose,” she says. “Contributing to the world, to our art form, to societal and cultural change. This is a really important film because we Latinos don’t get a lot of bites at the apple.”

Technically, the Searchlight-backed comedy is a biopic — a genre with a tendency to be boring. “Flamin’ Hot” is never dull, but that took work. “When I read the original script, it had no point of view. It was like a documentary,” Longoria recalls. So she said, “This should be in his voice. He’s the smartest uneducated guy you’ll ever meet. It’s Scorsese meets Adam McKay.”
A twist on the American Dream shot in just 35 days, the result is inspirational and engaging, but also authentic, owing to the care Longoria took in representing a community she knew well. “Opportunity is not distributed equally. Talent is. All his life he was told, ‘No, ideas don’t come from people like you.’”

Influences: Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese
Reps: Agency: WME; Management: Brillstein Ent.; Legal: Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein

The 10 directors were honored in person on January 6 at the Palm Springs Film Festival, where a couple of last year’s alumni (Aitch Alberto and Goran Stolevski) will also be screening their films.

Click here for the complete list.

Jesse Garcia to Star in the Eva Longoria-Directed “Flamin’ Hot” Film

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a flamin’ hot time for Jesse Garcia.

The 38-year-old Mexican American actor and former Quinceañera star has landed the lead role in Eva Longoria’s feature directorial debut Flamin’ Hot from Searchlight Pictures and Franklin Entertainment.

Garcia will play Richard Montanez, the architect of the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto, while Annie Gonzalez of Gentefied will portray his wife, Judy.

Flamin’ Hot tells the true life story of Richard Montanez, the Frito Lay janitor who took inspiration from his Mexican American heritage to create Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, the snack that disrupted the food industry and became a pop culture phenomenon.

Desperate Housewives actress and Telenovela, Grand Hotel, and Devious Maids EP Longoria beat out several directors for the job after impressing Franklin and Searchlight with her authentic approach to the project.

“It has been my biggest priority to make sure we are telling Richard Montañez’s story authentically,” said Longoria in a statement. “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.”

Also new to Flamin’ Hot is scribe Linda Yvette Chavez who has come aboard for revisions on the Lewis Colick-penned screenplay. Chavez is the creator of Netflix’s Gentefied and she’s also adapting I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter at the streamer for America Ferrera’s upcoming directorial debut.

Garcia appears in the Searchlight Pictures title Under the Same Moon, alongside Kate del Castillo and Ferrera. He has been widely recognized for his role in the highly acclaimed Quinceañera winner of the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. For his performance as Carlos, Garcia was nominated and won the prestigious ALMA Award (American Latino Media Arts) as Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture in 2007. Garcia can also be seen in The Avengers.

Gonzalez is a Chicana actress and East Los Angeles native. She grew up singing with the band Quetzal, (which has been a noted force in the Chicano movement), was one of the original dancers on Jamm X Kids for the WB and has been appearing on TV since the age of 10. She is most known for her roles in Gentefied, Vida, Shameless, and Legion. She was recently cast in the ABC pilot, Bucktown starring opposite Jane Lynch and Nicole Richie. Gonzalez also has a YouTube page with videos dedicated to her thoughts on spirituality, self-love, peace, positivity and living life as a Latina.

Bad Bunny Partners with Cheetos for “Deja Tu Huella” Campaign

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny’s making his (orange) mark…

Over the weekend, videos of the 26-year-old Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton singer filming in the streets of California’s Boyle Heights in flooded social media. He was spotted by fans doing various takes for an upcoming Cheetos commercial, and the cat was out of the bag. “I wasn’t expecting that,” he tells Billboard by phone. “The word got around and it was like a sold-out concert,” he jokes.

After teaming up with various brands this year including Crocs, Bad Bunny has now joined forces with Cheetos for its “Deja Tu Huella” campaign — a new multi-platform initiative designed to rally the next generation to leave their mark in their culture.

“This initiative is important because it’s the union of two brands, the commercials are amazing, and it’s an encouragement for the Latin community,” says Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. “I feel proud because we are using our tools and the motivation to invite Latinos to leave their mark in what they love and to reach their goals whether it’s in music, sports, or the arts.”

Through “Deja Tu Huella,” Cheetos wants to celebrate and help lift up the Latino community.

“I’m leaving my mark in many ways,” Bunny continues. “For me, it’s important to leave my mark with my creations in music but also as a human being. My music has traveled far around the world and 100 percent in Spanish with my Puerto Rican slang. Wherever I go, in every interview, I let everyone know that I am Latino and Puerto Rican and I think that I have left that mark well placed in the whole world.”

But the partnership is more than just a campaign.

Cheetos, in collaboration with the singer’s Good Bunny Foundation, is giving back to the Hispanic community with a $500,000 commitment. This complements the recently announced PepsiCo and PepsiCo Foundation commitment to the Latino community with $170 million in support over five years to further build on its long-standing efforts to address racial inequality and create opportunity, according to an official press statement.

“It’s undeniable that Hispanic culture has shaped American pop culture. And it’s that culture that has inspired much of Cheetos initiatives in food, fashion, and entertainment,” said Marissa Solis, svp of marketing, Frito-Lay North America, in a statement. “On the heels of Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re proud to kick off a campaign that pays tribute to the Latinos who are pushing boundaries and rewriting the rules. And, we’ll have a lot of fun along the way when we see what Mr. Bunny and Mr. Chester has a store for fans this November.”

The Bad Bunny and Cheetos collaboration will be unveiled on Sunday, November 22 during the 2020 American Music Awards, where he’s a four-time nominee. As part of the AMAs partnership, Cheetos is also sponsoring the expansion of the Latin award categories including favorite male artist, favorite female artist, favorite album, and favorite song.

As for the “Yo Perreo Sola” singer’s favorite Cheetos flavor? “I like the ‘Flamin’ Hot Limón’ the most,” he concludes.

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Celebrating the Latino Influence

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