By Variety via NBC News
Filmmaker Eva Longoria lamented that Hollywood studios underestimate the importance of the Latino audience and that the industry offers few opportunities to Hispanic women. "Your film will not be successful if you do not have the Latino audience," the actress defended.
Longoria, born in Texas to Mexican parents, said she felt "the weight of her community" and "that of all directors" during the production of Flamin' Hot, with which she debuts as a director.
Actress and filmmaker Eva Longoria.Corey Nickols/Getty Images for IMDb file
"They don't give us many opportunities," she told the Kering Women in Motion panel at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
"My film wasn't low-budget, far from it. It wasn't $100 million, but it wasn't two either. When was the last studio film directed by a Latina? About 20 years ago. We can't have a movie every 20 years," he said.
"The problem is that if this movie fails, people will say, 'Oh, Latina stories don't work. The directors don't measure up," she said. "A white man can direct a $200 million movie, flop and get another. That is the problem. I have a chance, I work twice as hard, twice as fast and twice as cheap," he said.
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Flamin' Hot is based on the story of Richard Montañez and his wife, who claim to have invented those popular Cheetos.
Longoria wanted to pay homage to this emotional story by bringing it to the big screen, and was inspired by his own family to define the profiles of the characters. The story also addresses how U.S. companies undervalue the Hispanic community, similar to what Hollywood studios do, he said.
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"28% of the people who buy tickets at the box office are Latino," he said. "Your film won't be successful if you don't have a Latino audience. Do you know how many Latinos went to see Crazy Rich Asians? Do you know how many Latinos bought a ticket to Fast & Furious? We are above the rate of movie viewers, so why is there not going to be content for us if we are the ones who bought the most tickets?"
Despite the steps the industry has taken to encourage inclusion, Longoria believes that not only is there a long way to go, but statistically, Hollywood is going backwards.
"We're still underrepresented in front of the camera, we're still underrepresented behind the camera, we still don't tap into women in the Latino community," Longoria said, "we were at 7% in TV and film, now we're at 5%, so the myth that Hollywood is so progressive is a myth when you look at data."
