Rita Wilson Says 'I Still Have Conversations' with Friends and Family Who've Died

Glenn Garner
·2 min read
Los Angeles, CA - December 5, 2022: Rita Wilson, Producer, and Tom Hanks, Producer, attend a Q&A after the Special Screening of Columbia Pictures A MAN CALLED OTTO, at the Academy Museum. Special Screening of Columbia Pictures A MAN CALLED OTTO, The Academy Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA - 5 Dec 2022
Los Angeles, CA - December 5, 2022: Rita Wilson, Producer, and Tom Hanks, Producer, attend a Q&A after the Special Screening of Columbia Pictures A MAN CALLED OTTO, at the Academy Museum. Special Screening of Columbia Pictures A MAN CALLED OTTO, The Academy Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA - 5 Dec 2022
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Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks

Rita Wilson believes in keeping the conversation going long after someone is gone.

In fact, the 66-year-old producer and singer's new song "Till You're Home," for the movie A Man Called Otto, was inspired by the notion.

"Well, it sort of was inspired because when my dad died, Mike Nichols, who was our friend, said, 'the conversation continues,'" she told PEOPLE at the movie's Los Angeles premiere on Monday. "And that idea that even though somebody's not in your life anymore, that I still have conversations with my parents, my friends that have passed away."

Wilson's song caps the credits to the movie, which she produced. Her husband Tom Hanks, 66, stars in the film as a widower who is contemplating ending his life, before a friendly neighbor steps in and changes his perspective about family and home.

"David [song co-writer Hodges] and I sort of thought about this idea that when someone's out for the day and you can't wait to get until they come home so that you can tell them about your day, that sort of was the inspiration for that," Wilson added about the idea behind the song. "But also that maybe home was a place that was a spiritual home."

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Colombian singer-songwriter Sebastián Yatra, who sang the Oscar-nominated "Dos Oruguitas" in Disney's Encanto, performs the song, which captures the nuances of loss from multiple perspectives, Wilson said.

The movie, directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland), is a family affair that also stars the couple's son, Truman Hanks, as well as newcomer Mariana Treviño as the pregnant, nosy neighbor.

RELATED: See Tom Hanks as a Grumpy Widower Who Finds Unlikely Friendships in A Man Called Otto First Look

Treviño's casting was a no-brainer for the producer and Hanks, who recalled seeing her audition and then immediately knowing audiences would love her.

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"Rita just came into the room at home and literally said, 'You need to see this,' " Hanks recalled at the screening. "And it was her [audition tape]. We looked at it on Rita's iPad and there was just no denying. And I don't know what the boss said, but she said, 'What do you think?' And I said, 'Well, I think we should just get her.' And that was that."

A Man Called Otto hits select theaters Dec. 25 then everywhere Jan. 13.