Flamin' Hot is an interesting film — and not just because its subject matter is Cheetos. It's sort of like the snack food industry's answer to Air, telling a story about the American Dream and about how a janitor (played by Jesse Garcia) was able to create one of the brand's most popular flavors.
But even if you didn't know what it was about, the poster for Flamin' Hot will catch your attention. It's a riff on Michelangelo's iconic Creation of Adam painting, with God's hand being swapped out for an orange-tinted hand.
Upon first glance, it's hard to tell if it's a real photo or artwork. Garcia assured that it's “a mix of a real picture and a Photoshop composition of me doing that [replicating the Creation of Adam pose since] the original picture is me holding a bag of Cheetos.”
Before diving fully into the creative process behind it, Garcia promised, “The poster is a really funny story.”
He seems like a lovely guy, but this was the first time that Garcia seemed to really get excited during the interview.
“You're the first person to ask me [about the poster],” he said with a smile.
As it turns out, the iconic poster was a “happy accident.” While in the midst of a standard gallery shoot, Garcia was exhausted by the end of it and took a moment to himself.
“I went and jumped up on a table and I kind of laid down. I was just chilling and the set photographer came over and started shooting me. So I laid down, I kind of posed, and I did the stance, [and I] grabbed a bag of Cheetos, and out of all the pictures that we shot, they saw this picture of me holding the bag of Cheetos and they photoshopped it a little bit — I had a face shield on and all kinds of stuff,” Garcia recalled.
In conclusion, Garcia saw this poster as the result of a “happy accident” and “creative input from the illustrators.”
Flamin' Hot tells the story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), a Frito-Lay janitor who created the Flamin' Hot Cheetos flavor. It's an inspirational and uplifting story with the right kind of charm. Annie Gonzalez, Dennis Haysbert, Tony Shalhoub, and Matt Walsh star in the film. It's also Eva Longoria's directorial debut and will have a unique release by debuting on both Disney+ and Hulu on the same day (June 9).
Flamin' Hot will premiere on Disney+ and Hulu on June 9.