The Gilded Age star Ahlers wraps Movin' On Up short
The Gilded Age star Ben Ahlers and Wesley Taylor have wrapped production on Movin' On Up, a workplace satire short film directed by Jacob Wahba. Variety reports Taylor stars as a directionless white-collar worker catapulted up the corporate ladder in an MGM-musical-meets-Silicon-Valley world.
The wrap is a neat off-cycle credit for viewers tracking The Gilded Age cast side projects. Per Variety's exclusive report, the short is Wahba's film directorial debut after work across editorial campaigns, New York City theatrical productions, and 20th Century television series. More cast and streaming alerts live in our Streaming & TV Alerts hub.
Key Takeaways
- The Gilded Age star Ben Ahlers and Wesley Taylor have wrapped Jacob Wahba's workplace satire short Movin' On Up.
- Taylor plays a directionless white-collar worker thrust up a corporate ladder where the company's purpose is a mystery.
- Wahba says the look is inspired by 1950s MGM musicals, including Singin' in the Rain and Busby Berkeley.
- The cast also features Ainsley Seiger, David Mattar Merten, and Denise Lute.
- No release date or platform was announced in Variety's report.
What is Movin' On Up about?
Variety says Taylor — known for Only Murders in the Building, Smash, and SpongeBob Squarepants: The Musical — stars as an aimless office worker suddenly rocketed up the ranks.
He enters what the outlet calls an "MGM Musical Meets Silicon Valley world," where employees dance through the halls and the firm's actual purpose stays murky. That clash of old-Hollywood spectacle and modern corporate fog powers the satire.
Writer Patrick Daly told Variety the short "captures a uniquely 2020s feeling that we all have inside of us – that feeling of 'I'm not sure what I'm doing, but if I don't do it fast I might die.' It's unsettling in real life, but hilarious on screen."
Who else is in the Movin' On Up cast?
Besides The Gilded Age star and Taylor wrapping the shoot, Variety lists Ainsley Seiger (Law and Order: Organized Crime), David Mattar Merten (Enemy of the People), and Denise Lute (The Path, Up Here) among the cast.
Ahlers is repped by Gersh and Artists First. Taylor is with Innovative and Anonymous. Seiger is repped by Gersh and Authentic; Merten by Innovative and CLA Partners; Lute by the Bloc Agency.
Who made the short, and how does it look?
Wahba said Tuesday the aesthetics were "inspired by the intricacy of 1950s MGM musicals—films like 'Singin' in the Rain' and the work of Vincente Minnelli and Busby Berkeley."
Max Johnson, Chloé Ryan, and Wahba produce, with executive producers Frankie Seratch and David Treatman. Maria Noto and Daly are co-producers; Katherine McGuire and Joseph Hayes are associate producers.
Pierre Marais, recently a leading man in Broadway's Sunset Boulevard, edited. Jason Velez is director of photography. Costumes are by Kala La Fortune Reed, production design by Lucas Degirolamo, and choreography by Matthew Steffens. Joseph Hayes cast the film. Natalia Karaseva and Christian McGhee composed, with Zachary Schur as music supervisor.
For now, the story stops at wrap: Variety did not detail Ahlers's character, a premiere window, or a distributor. Still, pairing The Gilded Age star with Taylor — whose credits span Smash and SpongeBob Squarepants: The Musical — on a dance-through-the-office satire is an easy watchlist add for fans.