Hulu’s new comedy movie “Flamin’ Sizzling” payments itself because the story behind the invention of some of the recognizable snacks on the earth: Flamin’ Sizzling Cheetos. At first look, it has all of the hallmarks of a “primarily based on a real story” story: a unusual concept that results in an unlikely, made-for-the-movies rise from obscurity and a charismatic and decided hero on the middle of all of it. In actuality, although, there’s much less reality to the film than you may count on.
Who Is Richard Montañez?
“Flamin’ Sizzling” relies on a memoir, “A Boy, a Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Government,” by Richard Montañez. Montañez grew up in a working-class Mexican-American household in California, and he dropped out of faculty to work. He was ultimately employed as a janitor at Frito-Lay, which is the place his story supposedly actually begins.
In his e-book, Montañez describes how an obvious machine error led him to create an iconic snack. In response to his model of occasions, a machine broke down within the Cheetos line, leading to a batch not getting dusted with the signature orange tacky powder. Montañez writes that he took the “plain” Cheetos house and dusted them with chili powder as a substitute, impressed by a road vendor in his neighborhood who offered Mexican road corn with lime and chili powder.
When his family and friends appreciated the style of the brand new product, Montañez got down to pitch it to the CEO of Frito-Lay, Roger Enrico. Round that point, Enrico had despatched out a video “telling all workers he wished them to take possession of the corporate,” in line with CNBC, and Montañez writes, “I known as him up, not figuring out you were not alleged to name the CEO.” Securing a gathering, Montañez pitched the product, and the remainder was supposedly historical past. Flamin’ Sizzling Cheetos grew to become a phenomenon, and Montañez climbed the company ladder, ultimately touchdown an govt place at PepsiCo and constructing a profession as a speaker off of his rags-to-riches story.
In 2018, Fox Searchlight introduced they might be producing a film primarily based on his life story. It appeared just like the American Dream.
Or, at the least, till just a few years in the past.
Did Richard Montañez Invent Flamin’ Sizzling Cheetos?
In 2021, the Los Angeles Occasions printed an investigative report that appeared to debunk Montañez’s claims.
“None of our information present that Richard was concerned in any capability within the Flamin’ Sizzling take a look at market,” Frito-Lay wrote in a press release to The Occasions, printed as a part of the in-depth investigation. “We now have interviewed a number of personnel who have been concerned within the take a look at market, and all of them point out that Richard was not concerned in any capability within the take a look at market.. . . We worth Richard’s many contributions to our firm, particularly his insights into Hispanic customers, however we don’t credit score the creation of Flamin’ Sizzling Cheetos or any Flamin’ Sizzling merchandise to him.”
In response to the Occasions article, Flamin’ Sizzling Cheetos have been developed in 1989 by means of a reasonably mundane course of, born out of the necessity to compete with different manufacturers that provided spicy snacks. Montañez did begin on the firm as a janitor, and he did pitch product concepts and ultimately ascended to a director-level position in advertising and marketing, however an inner Frito-Lay investigation, in addition to the accounts of many related workers across the identical time, revealed that Montañez’s story of inventing Flamin’ Sizzling Cheetos was not correct. In reality, the “spicy snacks” challenge was first assigned to Lynne Greenfeld, a junior worker and new MBA grad who labored with a number of others to develop the merchandise.
When the information broke in 2021, properly after the “Flamin’ Sizzling” film was in manufacturing, the film’s artistic workforce insisted that it was nonetheless a narrative value telling.
“Did Richard embellish a bit bit? Was his reminiscence defective right here or there? Who is aware of,” screenwriter Lewis Colick instructed Selection. “The reality is the product.. . . I feel sufficient of the story is true. The center and soul and spirit of the story is true. He’s a man who ought to stay the face of Flamin’ Sizzling Cheetos.”
