‘Flamin’ Hot’ | Cabot McMullen and Brandon Mendez | Exclusive Interview

Earlier this month, Disney released "Flamin' Hot" on Dinsey+ and Hulu, the film has been directed by Eva Longoria, and tells the true story of Richard Montañez’s incredible journey from working as a janitor at a Frito Lay plant to creating the massive success of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. 

Recently I got to speak with Cabot McMullen and Brandon Mendez, who were the production designers for the film, which saw them work on over 100 sets to bring this film to life. Since the movie spans four decades going from the 60s through the 90s, they had to be very strategic when conceptualizing and designing the sets to maintain period accuracy. They played with color shifts using a 60s and 70s color palette of oranges, greens, olives, and wood tones to keep that retro look. For the 80s period theme, they used the classic mauve wood color that was very popular during that time. They also had to flip some of the film’s locations up to four times due to the movie's quick pace. 

The factory where the Flamin' Hot chips were produced was one of the key sets they designed. They used a warmer color palette outside of the factory to contrast with the colder, more sterile feel inside the factory. The goal was to separate work from home by adding fewer patterns and more steel. The duo also created Frito-Lay products from all periods shown in the film, with coordinated branding, signage on the walls, patches on the workers' wardrobe, and documents on the desk to signal which decade and product Frito-Lay was working on.

"Flamin' Hot" is available to stream now on Disney+ and Hulu.