Jaala and Michael Easterling Remember 'Second Mom' Olivia Newton-John, Who Produced Their New Film (Exclusive)

The husband and wife duo chat with PEOPLE about their new coming-of-age film 'Deltopia' and their favorite memories of their late aunt Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John's family is continuing to keep her memory alive.

A year after her death, the star's nephew Michael Easterling and his wife Jaala Ruffman Easterling have released their new movie Deltopia, which Newton-John served as an executive producer on.

"She never got to see the final movie, but we had a screening, and her best friend Nancy said, 'You know what Olivia would've said? This is Grease for the next [generation],'" Jaala tells PEOPLE. "That was awesome to hear from her best friend."

Deltopia, out now, is a coming-of-age story inspired by the events that took place during Deltopia — the real-life, weekend-long party that draws thousands of college students to Isla Vista, the town that borders University of California, Santa Barbara, each April — in 2014. That year, things took a dark turn when party-goers and police clashed in the street, leading to more than 100 arrests and dozens of injuries.

In Deltopia, which Jaala and Michael both wrote and directed together, a group of recent high school graduates join the party to celebrate their newfound freedom. But nothing prepares them for what's to come.

"When Grease first came out, it was considered a little bit controversial," says Michael. "This film has that coming-of-age presence like Grease, and it also has the fun and good times that you see in Grease."

Related: Olivia Newton-John Duets with Dolly Parton on 'Jolene' as Her Final Recording: 'I Loved Every Moment'

Since Newton-John died of breast cancer at age 73 in August 2022, Jaala and Michael say they've missed her "every day."

"She was an angel on earth," Jaala says. "But we're so blessed to be able to still listen to her music and watch her movies."

Adds Michael: "She inspires us every day to keep creating and moving forward."

PEOPLE: Did you always know you wanted to create a movie about the real-life events that went down at Deltopia in 2014?

JAALA RUFFMAN EASTERLING: Well, we always wanted to do a coming of age film about teenagers ending high school and coming out of adolescence and into adulthood. We were working on that idea for a while, and then Mikey found these crazy videos of the riot in 2014, and we were like, "Oh my God, this is such a cool metaphor of them fighting against repression, the man." We were like, "They have to go here."

MICHAEL EASTERLING: Making it based on a true story really made it come together and feel real and authentic. With the party, we were like, "This is the perfect place for our characters to go and explore and figure out what they want to do for the rest of their lives." We both come from a music video background, but our goal was always to make a feature film. The accomplishment of making a film and then selling it to Lionsgate was huge for us. And now seeing people receive it well has been beyond a dream.

What has it been like seeing the fan response so far?

ME: Amazing. I mean, we're blown away to hear the way audiences are reacting to it. I really think it's one of those films that will end up a cult classic where teens will talk about it for ages to come.

Kind of like the 2003 movie Thirteen.

JRE: Exactly! Catherine Hardwicke directed that, and she's amazing. Growing up, I used to go to Blockbuster, and when I found the independent film section, my life changed. I was like, "Oh my gosh, these are different. They feel real." They make you feel weird, they make you feel uncomfortable. They tackle real anxiety. I feel like there's just a difference when you're watching an independent film that really feels authentic and raw. That's what we were trying to make with Deltopia.

Related: Olivia Newton-John's Husband John Easterling Says He Still Speaks to Her 'Out Loud'

How do you balance each other out with work-wise?

JRE: We've worked together for so long, so we kind of have a rhythm now. It's really about trust. I mean, we both do everything, but one of us will spearhead in different moments. When someone's wanting to get one more shot, it's never, "Oh, I don't know if we need it." We know that there's a reason, and we trust each other and we fight for it.

ME: It's a balance that we worked on through the past 10 years of making music videos. Sometimes I like to dive into the cinematography, and then Jaala will kind reel me back and say, "Let's focus on the story, the characters, the dialogue." It's a really good balance.

JRE: I also think that it's really great that we have a male and female voice, so you have authentic characters all the way around. I'm so happy that we're a duo because there would be so much more pressure. I like having a partner.

Your daughter Gia was only 3 months old when you were filming this movie. How did you manage everything?

JRE: It was crazy. I am glad you asked about that because that's such an important thing to talk about. I was pumping on set. Thank God we have my mom, grandma, so she watched her. But I was fully pumping on set the whole time. I had the wireless pumps. People thought I was stuffing my bra, and I'm like, "No, it's not a fashion statement. I'm feeding my daughter." We went home at night to a three month old. It was kind of crazy, but I'm so grateful that we were able to do it and that we had grandma there.

ME: Yeah, we're so fortunate for grandma. In the first couple months of her life, we'd want to be there every day, so it was tough on us when we'd be having to FaceTime or look at pictures and just miss her so much. But she has a good relationship with her grandma now. They really bonded the first few months. She didn't miss us too much at the beginning.

JRE: We actually pushed off having a kid for a while because I was like, "Let's shoot the movie first, let's shoot the movie first." And then COVID happened so our movie got paused, and we were like, "We don't know when we're going to shoot the movie now, so let's have a baby." So we did it. Girls out there, you can do everything. You can be a mom, you can have a career, you can have it all.

ME: Olivia was a perfect example of being a mom and having a career at the same time. Actually, when Jaala was pregnant, Olivia was the first person to notice her bump. She noticed her glow — it wasn't even a bump yet. It was just like, "Are you pregnant?" And then we were like, "No." And then two days later we were like, "Yeah." Olivia was able to meet Gia and have that little relationship before she passed.

JRE: Yeah, we lived with Olivia when we had Gia. Olivia was like, "You can do it all, Jaala, you can do it all. You can have the baby, you can have the career. You don't have to compromise."

How did your love story begin?

ME: I'm originally from North Carolina, and around 2008 my mom had brain cancer. I was there with her as she was going through it. During this time, my uncle [John Easterling] started dating Olivia. Around the time she was passing, my uncle John was with Olivia on The Great Wall of China, but he flew back to be there for my mom during her last days. After she had passed, my uncle was like, "Do you want to come out to California and just hang out for a little bit?" He gave me an opportunity to come out to California, and I lived with John and Olivia in Malibu. That's where I met Chloe [Lattanzi], Olivia's daughter. We started getting together and doing some music videos and hanging out, and Chloe's best friend was Jaala at the time. Jaala had made music videos and short films, so I had seen her work before I even met her. When we first met I was like, "Oh my God, you're this amazing female director," and she was like, "Oh my God, I feel the same way about you." She had seen some of my music videos and stuff, and we just hit it off right away. It was through Olivia and her daughter that we met and came together.

JRE: I had been best friends with Chloe my whole life, and Olivia was always my second mom. When we got married, me and Mikey, me and Chloe got to become cousins, and Olivia was my aunt. So basically, Olivia and Chloe and John are to be thanked for us two together and for us having our careers and everything. It just shows how one bit of love could lead into so much more. I think it's pretty beautiful.

Related: Chloe Lattanzi on Grief and Keeping Olivia Newton-John's Mission Alive: 'This Work Is Helping Me Not Lose It'

When you think of Olivia, what's a memory that always makes you smile?

JRE: For me, it would have to be my nights with Chloe and Olivia. We lived together the last two years of Olivia's life, really. We all lived up on the ranch together in Santa Ynez in Santa Barbara, and every night, me, Chloe and Olivia would make dinner together. That was the best. We had so much fun.

ME: She was really a second mom, and it was just so much fun when we were living there. She had these two ponies called Harry and Winston. I would take them down to the corral for her and run them in this giant sand pit every morning, and she would have so much fun if she could make it down. She would be like, "Meet me down there at 7 a.m. so you can run the horses." She would always film it and just laugh so hard.

JRE: She was very funny, too. So funny. I don't know if a lot of people know that about her, but she was always cracking jokes. She was very witty, so I miss her jokes and laughing with her. I literally don't know of a better human that's ever lived. She's got to be up there with Mother Teresa.

ME: She had no ego. When we would shoot her music videos, she would go around and shake everybody's hands on set. She knew that every person's job was so important. Her album Grace and Gratitude taught us a lot. It's really a healing album.

JRE: What Mikey said about how she acted on set, that was a thing that was instilled in us from the beginning. If you make it that big, there's reasons you're there besides your talent. You're a good person.

ME: She brought me backstage to meet Tina Turner one time, and they were best friends. They were the coolest icons right next to each other.

Can we expect more collaborations from you and Chloe in the future?

JRE: She is so talented, and we actually have one of her songs in Deltopia. It's on the soundtrack. She makes a small cameo in Deltopia, too. She has some other amazing songs that are coming out. It's actually some of her best stuff that is about to come out, and it's stuff that Olivia had heard and was so excited about, too. I'm just so stoked for Chloe to put that out soon.

Is there anything else you'd like people to know about Deltopia?

ME: You see some sex, drugs and rock and roll in the film, but at the end of the day, I think it's about love and friendship and making mistakes and trying to grow up and be a better human.

JRE: Luna Blaise, Madison Pettis, Charlie Gillespie, Hart Denton, Greer Grammar, Will Peltz, they just all gave such incredible performances and are going to be huge stars. Everyone should go and see it!

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