Movin' On Up short film wraps with Ben Ahlers and Wesley Taylor
Ben Ahlers and Wesley Taylor have finished the workplace satire, which turns corporate drift into a musical-style office nightmare.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
The Movin' On Up short film has wrapped production, with The Gilded Age actor Ben Ahlers and Wesley Taylor attached to the workplace satire, Variety reported.
Jacob Wahba directed the short, which marks his first film directing credit after work on editorial campaigns, New York stage productions and 20th Century television series, according to Variety.
Taylor, whose credits include Only Murders in the Building, Smash and Spongebob Squarepants: The Musical, stars as a white-collar employee with little direction who suddenly shoots up the company ranks.
The film drops him into what Variety described as an “MGM Musical Meets Silicon Valley world,” where office workers dance through corridors and the business they serve remains unclear.
What is Movin' On Up about?
Movin' On Up is a workplace satire built around corporate ambition, confusion and speed. Its central joke is a worker rising through a company whose culture looks dazzling while its purpose stays murky.
The cast also includes Ainsley Seiger of Law and Order: Organized Crime, David Mattar Merten of Enemy of the People and Denise Lute, whose credits include The Path and Up Here.
Wahba told Variety the short’s look took cues from “the intricacy of 1950s MGM musicals,” naming Singin’ in the Rain along with the work of Vincente Minnelli and Busby Berkeley as inspirations.
Writer Patrick Daly told Variety the film channels a modern pressure familiar to the 2020s: “I’m not sure what I’m doing, but if I don’t do it fast I might die.” Daly added that the feeling is disturbing in life but funny on screen.
Who made the workplace satire?
Max Johnson, Chloé Ryan and Wahba produced the short. Frankie Seratch and David Treatman are executive producers, with Maria Noto and Daly serving as co-producers, and Katherine McGuire and Joseph Hayes as associate producers.
The crew includes Pierre Marais as editor. Marais, credited on As Apple Pie and Ghost Light, recently starred on Broadway in Sunset Boulevard, according to Variety.
Jason Velez, whose credits include The Meyerowitz Stories and When They See Us, served as director of photography. Kala La Fortune Reed handled costumes, Lucas Degirolamo led production design and Matthew Steffens choreographed the short.
Hayes, credited on The Alto Knights, The Bear and Masquerade, was casting director. Natalia Karaseva and Christian McGhee composed the music, with Zachary Schur as music supervisor.
Variety reported that Ahlers is represented by Gersh and Artists First. Taylor is represented by Innovative and Anonymous, Seiger by Gersh and Authentic, Merten by Innovative and CLA Partners, and Lute by the Bloc Agency.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.