Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are coming to the big screen

Cheetos are making their debut on the silver screen in a dangerously cheesy biopic called Flamin’ Hot. The fiery film will tell the true story of Mexican-born immigrant Richard Montanez, who first worked as a janitor at a Frito-Lay plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California, where he created one of the most iconic snack foods of all time: Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

When he was a child, Montanez came to America, where he struggled to learn English and ultimately dropped out of school. According to Fox News, his billion dollar idea for spicy Cheetos arrived one day when a technical slip-up at the Frito-Lay factory left a batch of corn puffs without cheese dust. Montanez, who was a custodian at the plant, took a handful home, where he experimented with chile seasoning.

After realizing the new variety could be an improvement to regular Cheetos, the then-custodian secured a meeting with top executives and eventually landed his creation a permanent spot in Frito-Lay’s lineup. Today, the “God Father of Hispanic Branding” is the executive vice president of multicultural sales for PepsiCo North America.

Variety says that Fox Searchlight is set to produce Flamin’ Hot in “what was a highly competitive sale, with multiple studios vying for the project.” While there is no director attached to the project at this time, Movie Web reports that Lewis Colick - who wrote Ladder 49, Charlie St. Cloud, and October Sky - is set to write the script, and Devon Franklin - who is credited as a studio executive on Captain Phillips, Moneyball, and The Karate Kid - has signed on as a producer.

While there’s no release date for the film quite yet, anyone looking to watch it at Regal Cinemas can take advantage of noshing on the theater’s Cheetos-dusted popcorn. But what exactly is Cheetos cheese dust? The Daily Meal answers nine of the most pressing questions about your favorite junk foods.

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