Eva Longoria is looking back at her successful career in Hollywood, following her recent directorial debut with ‘Flamin; Hot.’ The 48-year-old star says that the film industry has evolved when it comes to Latino representation, ..
however, the conversation was not as open at the start of her career as it is today.
Longoria has made her feature film directorial debut with ‘Flamin' Hot,’ an inspirational story about the rags to riches journey of Frito-Lay creator and writer Richard Montañez , played in the movie by Jesse Garcia. The actress of ‘Desperate Housewives’ had already been directing in television for 10 years. At the 38th Imagen Awards, a night celebrating Latino excellence, Eva Longoria got the trophy for her debut feature-length directorial work, ‘Flamin’ Hot’. The film delves into the creation of the spicy Frito-Lay snack and secures additional wins, including Best Feature Film and Best Actor-Feature Film for Jesse García. We talked to the director in Los Angeles where she said the movie was shot in 30 days. Eva Longoria is from Corpus Christi, Texas, a city where she worked at a Wendy's while attending school to pay for her quinceañera party. After winning the Miss Corpus Christi USA beauty pageant in 1998, and having graduated from college, Eva entered a talent contest in the City of Los Angeles, which caused her to be recruited by an agent. Today she is one of the most powerful in the industry and a fighter for Latinos representation in Hollywood.
Q: Why was the time right for your directorial debut as a filmmaker?
A: I’ve been directing for 12 years. Wasn’t my intention to say: I’m going to do a feature! The story found me: my agent sent me the script and told me that it was a great story, with Searchlight that are very prestigious and not to believe my talents but there were a lot of directors lined up and it was a beating war over the book, it is commercial and personal. When I read the script, I knew I was the only one who could tell this story. I really felt that. I said: this is mine. I knew I had a super power for this community, the entertaining way in which I tell the story. I know the message will be received if we do it with humor and heart. I didn’t want to do a biopic about the Flaming Hot Cheeto but to tell the story of Ricardo Montaner because his life is amazing. That is really what happened and then I chased it and begged so they would pick me and I got the job.
Q: You seem to be very interested in having a diverse team?
A: We are in a time when the buzz word is diversity. If I heard one more time about a diversity panel my head is going to blow up. There are so many panels, stop with that and hire more diverse people. We need to reward the films that brak the wall and talk the talk and really deliver a different perspective, a fresh perspective. When you watch the film you feel that perspective. I think that we Latinos have to get behind the cameras to create more opportunities for our community. We have to be directors, scriptwriters and producers
Q: How did you approach this film?
A: My North Star in this project was authenticity. I wanted to be authentic, I was Richard Montañés. I am Mexican American, I am chicana, I am from this community. Hollywood tends to define how heroes look, and are never like us. When I was going to be in a position to hire, as always I’ve done as a director. I always crew with the lens of women, people of color, diversity. Every department was latino and I didn’t sacrifice talent because they made the movie better.
Q: How was your relationship with Richard Montañez?
A: He is still young, is 60 years old and a professional speaker. He came many times to the set. As I was investigating him, I went to study all his speeches as he is a motivational speaker. I immediately knew that the movie had to be from his point of view, literally in his voice. Many lines of the movie are taken from his speeches.
Q: Why did you choose the actor Jesse Garcia?
A: Well my super power actors. This is a major character piece, I needed an actor playing three different decades, smart and able to shoot the movie in 30 days. We didn’t have time to talk on set. I have always been a fan of Jesse Garcia since the movie ‘Quinceañera’ won at Sundance. He has been around but never had the opportunity to do a role like this. I wanted a Mexican American because it was important to be accurate. I feel proud and happy to have led this team to tell a beautiful story in which I am sure many can see themselves reflected in the characters. I hope to inspire audiences with the talent of actors from our community. Every day of filming, I discovered the intelligence and creative capacity of our community
Q: Did you know Diane Warren before she wrote the song for your movie?
A: It is a funny story. My production offices are in the building of her agent and I met with her in an elevator for the first time ten years ago, and then she told me that she wanted to write a song for my movie. I said then that I didn’t have any movie, and she said: when you have a movie, I want to write the song. Years pass, and we keep talking about it. Finally, it was announced that I was making this movie and she called me and said: I’m doing the song for this movie. She is a genius. She came out with this song ‘Fire inside’ that encapsulates the whole idea of the movie. That is talent.
Q: How important is music to you?
A: I wasn’t very musical, I've never scored a movie. When I was talking with composers for this movie, it was like a fishing expedition asking them: how the movie should sound. When I talked to Marcello Zaros, our composer, he thought this movie was wall to wall music and if you see the movie, the music is what moves you from one scene to another. His score is absolutely fantastic and I combined that with many songs from our community.
Q: You have been directing for more than ten years, was it a struggle?
A: As a Latina director the problem is if this movie fails, people go: Oh Latino stories don’t work…female directors really don’t cut it.’ We don’t get a lot of at-bats. A white male can direct a $200 million film, fail and get another one. That’s the problem. I get one at-bat, one chance, work twice as hard, twice as fast, twice as cheap. Latinas directors don’t get many bites at the apple. I carried that with me every day. I can’t get this wrong, because if I get this wrong they’re gonna be like: We hired a Latina that one time and she didn’t do well so we’re not gonna do it again for 10 more years. The last studio film that was directed by a Latina was 22 years ago. We can’t get a film every 22 years. That’s not cool. We have stories to tell
Q: Do you have a favorite Spanish author or book?
A: Oh, I have so many. Well, other than this one which is my movie: Flaming Hot from Richard Montanez, the one I just directed. And of course the Bible that I live by, written by Don Miguel Ruiz. And I love the book Chicano by Richard Vasquez, that’s another great one. I think Richard Montañez is amazing. His book ‘Flamin Hot’ is now my favorite. I usually read a lot of nonfiction, and a lot of spiritual books. I just got a feminine guide.
Q: Do you get to eat any Flamin Hot Cheetos in the set?
A: I grew up with Flamin Hot Cheetos. When I ate a regular bag of Cheetos for the first time, I thought something was wrong with my bag. As latinos, we all grow up with Flamin Hot Cheetos. We made the brand and it is our brand.
Q: Where are you more most time, at home in a kitchen or on a set?
A: Both. I am comfortable in a kitchen because I'm a very domestic person and I am a very driven career woman. I think I balance it well.
Q: Did the company that makes Flamin Hot said anything to you?
A: No. They sent some notes to Searchlight earlier on but they were 100 percent behind Richard's story.
Q: Do you speak Spanish?
A: Of course. I think it is very important to keep alive the Spanish Language in the United States. The conversation now is to celebrate Latino excellence. I made one film, and we have a long way to go. Imagine when we have two films. Imagine when we have three films! It wasn’t as big of a conversation as it is now. The word ‘diversity’ gets thrown around so much today. Back then, there were really no efforts or programs or initiatives.
Q: Do you miss playing Gabrielle Solis, your character in ‘Desperate Housewives’?
A: That was a very demanding job. I couldn’t breathe. I had PTSD from 24 episodes a year. I got more offers to get back to television but I turned everything down. I choose my projects very carefully. If I'm not going to give 110%, I won't do it. I say no to 90% of the projects they present to me because I have already seen what they offer me. I don't want to play characters that I don't understand, Latino or not, because I want to represent my brand and I want to be consistent with what I do.
Q: Do you feel like a leader in your community?
A: I do what I do to set an example. I could give speech after speech trying to instruct young people, telling them what they have to do, but that's not what it's about, he taught by example. It's not about telling them, it's about showing and that's all you need. I am willing to build a ladder for the Latinos of this country, but also for women. I have ten projects in development everywhere; Amazon, Apple, Fox, ABC… I give myself to bring projects to light.
