Ultimately, Flamin hot Cheetos would corner the Latin market and become a phenomenal success.
Here, Longoria, Becky G and Warren describe their connection to the story and their experience working together.
Watch the music video below.
Todd Williamson
DEADLINE: Diane and Eva, tell me about how your paths first crossed?
You happened to have offices in the same building, right?
EVA LONGORIA:I am so lucky.
It was just fate.
The fact that I met the greatest songwriter of all time in the elevator.
And that one day she would write the song to a film I direct.
Like, You know what?
You should get Diane Warren to… Id be like, Okay, yeah.
DIANE WARREN:I was excited.
LONGORIA:I think her genius and her work ethic is second to none.
Its just a gift to any film.
To digest an entire film into lyrics in…
WARREN:Three and-a-half minutes.
Its capturing the essence, right?
And this movies a beautiful movie.
Its a beautiful story.
It had so much heart.
But what I got out of it, was its about passion.
Its about one guy whos a janitor, but he has an idea.
He has an idea that hes excited about, and everybodys shutting him down.
Just like my life, where everybodys always shutting me down.
But the song is about passion.
Theres two meanings of the word.
Its the fire inside.
[Laughs]
LONGORIA:What you say is great.
Then I hire my DP, and my DP is like, Im Richard Montanez.
People always tell me, No, not you.
People always tell me no.
And then Becky saw the movie three times in a row.
BECKY G:And bawled my eyes out every time.
LONGORIA:She saw it, and then she went to go get her mom.
She was like, Come and sit down, weve got to see it again.
And then shes like, Oh my god, this is my story.
And Diane defines that.
Beckys defined that in her career.
WARREN:Were all a million to one that were here sitting here right now.
Really, more than that, the odds.
Im a songwriter from Van Nuys.
My dad sold insurance.
What are the chances, right?
I didnt know anybody in the music business.
All of us here, we didnt know someone.
We werent nepo babes.
LONGORIA:Yeah, I grew up on a ranch in Texas.
Im not supposed to be here.
BECKY G:And I grew up in Inglewood, in a garage.
Im definitely not supposed to be here.
DEADLINE: Tell me about that situation?
And the oldest of four kids, the oldest daughter of a Mexican-American family.
I was like, well, if they did it, I can do it too.
And so yeah, thats kind of where it all started.
And it looks different on everyone, but the feeling is something that we all have in common.
And I mean, Dianes like an honorary Latino now, basically.
WARREN:I love it.
LONGORIA:Honorary Chicana.
BECKY G:For real.
And Richard just got to be Richard in this story.
And I felt so seen.
It was an opportunity to dig deeper.
It was an opportunity to go and push myself to be something that I never thought I could be.
WARREN:Its the fire inside that did it.
Thats literally what that is.
LONGORIA:But thats how you came up with the chorus.
She was one of the first to watch the first assembly.
And we brought her in.
I was like, shes been asking me to see it.
Shes like, When is it finished?
When is it finished?
WARREN:I was bugging you.
Becky knows what a pain in the ass I am too.
I already got it.
I already got the song.
In the [screening room] lobby, in my ear.
WARREN:I had the title in the lobby.
I knew its not going to be a big ballad.
It had to be fing authentic and cool, and sound like a hit.
And the beautiful thing is, it sounds great outside of the movie and inside of the movie.
LONGORIA:Yeah, its my ringer.
BECKY G:Its a vibe.
The amount of TikToks we made of that [phone ringtone]… its so good.
DEADLINE: Eva you had Becky G in mind for this from the beginning right?
DEADLINE:Tell me about making that happen?
And then the music video?
LONGORIA:Oh yeah, that was fun too.
But for me, Im not musical.
Diane knows, Im not musical.
My composer knows this.
I dont have to explain why theres Tapatio on the dinner table.
There was such a shorthand that we already had.
And so I wanted that connection with Becky.
And Ive been a fan, and Ive known her through other things.
We have a soccer team together.
Were both Mexican American.
Her last album was about that intersection of who gets to say youre Mexican enough?
And you go, I do.
I get to say.
And that was part of Richards story.
And Richards story, as authentic and specific as it is, its so broad and universal.
Because that could be a Korean American story, it could be a Cuban American story.
It could be any immigrant, anybody who straddles the hyphenate.
Anybody who straddles that hyphen, of like, I am in both worlds.
Oh, youre half-and-half?
And youre like, No.
BECKY G:Yeah, why do I have to give up a part of myself to be accepted?
LONGORIA:But it had to be Becky.
And then its so funny, because Ive seen her rise.
And shes had the most insane last couple of years.
And so for me, Im always like, Oh, were going to get Becky.
And then all of a sudden shes like the hottest thing in the market.
And then they were like, good luck getting Becky.
For me, it was a no-brainer, for sure.
The feeling for me is absolutely mutual.
To be your best self, to take chances, to bet on yourself.
WARREN:Its all about betting on yourself now.
BECKY G:You got to be willing to be yourself out there.
And its like, Im not supposed to be here.
Thats what can happen.
Let me just show you what else.
LONGORIA:Let me bring you into this other room.
I was like, Man, it wouldve been cool to act in the film.
But it was cool, I got to experience her as my director for the music video.
DEADLINE: Do you have any confirmed new acting gigs coming up?
BECKY G:I definitely have some things in the pipeline.
But yeah, Im definitely very excited about that space.
