Rita Wilson knew she wanted to bring the two Latino characters, played by Manuel Garcia Rulfo and Mariana Trevino, from “A Man Called Otto” into her song “Till You’re Home.” She fell in love with the voice of Sebastián Yatra, who sang Oscar-nominated “Dos Oruguitas” from Disney’s “Encanto” (2021). He had the day off and was in Los Angeles, giving her a day to record the track. “We were incredibly lucky he said yes,” Wilson says.
The actor, producer, singer and songwriter will join the conversation about the Best Original Song awards for Sony Pictures’ upcoming feature film, which stars her husband, Tom Hanks, and is directed by Marc Forster.
The track marks Wilson’s third eligible original song, which began with “Even More Mine” from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” (2016) and “Everybody Cries” from “The Outpost” (2020), but it didn’t. is not his first venture into the world of music. “Marc Forster asked me to write a song for the movie that would play to those specific scenes in the movie,” she said. Variety. “I wanted to make sure the song was evocative.”
Niko Tavern
The song is personal to Wilson, reminding him of something a friend said to him after his father’s death: “The conversation continues.” This sentence has always remained engraved in his head.
She co-wrote the track with two-time Grammy-nominated David Hodges for Best Rock Song (“Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence, shared with Amy Lee and Ben Moody in 2004) and Best Country Song (” Dear Hate” by Maren Morris with Vince Gill, shared with Morris and Tom Douglas in 2019). In the film world, Hodges co-wrote “There’s a Place for Us” from “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (2010), which was nominated for a Golden Globe. Hodges also co-wrote popular numbers such as “A Thousand Years” with Christina Perri, from the Robert Pattinson-Kristen Stewart vampire love story “Twilight” (2008).
“A lot of the inspiration started with David Magee’s script,” says Wilson. “It was a natural start to start there. This movie is about love and how love continues even after a person leaves this earth.
Magee, who adapts Fredrik Backman’s novel, was nominated for two Oscars for adapted screenplay – Forster’s ‘Finding Neverland’ (2004) and Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’ (2012).
Niko Tavern
When Forster asked Wilson to record the song, knowing his previous albums, she was touched by the opportunity but made him promise to be honest with her if he didn’t want to use the final song. Also the film’s producer, Wilson says her primary allegiance is to the film and the director’s creative vision. “You can’t be precious about it or take anything personally,” she says.
Already well underway, the song was nominated by the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for Best Song (Independent). Wilson and Hodges will face “Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman”, “This Is a Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, “We Two Made One” from “The Silent Twins” and “Stand the Test of Time”. from “Tomorrow’s Game”.
“A Man Called Otto” will open in select theaters on Christmas Day.
To see ranked predictions for each individual category, visit Variety Oscar Center.
Listen to the music video for the song “Til You’re Home” below.