arts & life
tv
Ben Ketai
From The B
Underground
Up
Michigan native
Ben Ketai launches
a gritty Miami crime
series on Crackle.
Suzanne Chessler | Contributing Writer
en Ketai has entered the
digital world big time. The
former Metro Detroiter has
developed an action series about
digital money to be shown on a
digital platform starting Sept. 6.
Ketai — who has been making
short films since he was 12 — has
created, written, directed and exec-
utive produced StartUp, an original
series for Sony’s streaming network,
Crackle. In its launching season, 10
one-hour episodes unfold confron-
tations of shady tech entrepreneurs
who have come up with digital cur-
rency working out of Miami.
The series introduces three
unlikely money operatives and a
crooked FBI agent whose mission
is to take them down. Stars include
Martin Freeman (Fargo, Sherlock),
Adam Brody (CHiPS, The League),
Edi Gathegi (The Blacklist) and
Otmara Marrero (Graceland).
“My favorite things about the
series involve how disparate the
characters are and how dynamic
the cast is,” Ketai says in a phone
conversation from California,
where he has pursued a film career
for 12 years.
“Each of the four main char-
acters has a distinctly different
background and personality. When
you put them all together, it creates
a wonderful chemistry and balance
of tension and humor.”
Ketai, who asserts an ever-pres-
ent interest in storytelling, made
films as a student at the former
Andover High School in Bloomfield
Township and continued that pur-
suit at the University of Michigan.
He learned on the job as an intern
on productions associated with
famed director Sam Raimi, another
Michigan son.
“The series started with the
theme and shining a light on what
it means to do business in 2016
America,” explains Ketai, 34. “In
wanting to do a show that was
based on crime, I seemed to have
the perfect confluence.
“I wanted to pull back the cur-
tain on how the American dream
— what people believe makes
America great — doesn’t consider
the hardships that people in this
country still go through, economi-
cally or culturally. The characters
were born out of that.”
In the first episode, Izzy Morales
(Otmara Marrero) begins her quest
to build GenCoin, a cryptocur-
rency. Loan officer Nick Talman
(Adam Brody) is tasked by his
estranged father, Andy, to hide
questionable funds and uses some
of the money to partner with Izzy.
Ronald Dacey (Edi Gathegi) deals
with the perils of the streets while
making a discovery about his gang’s
money. Meanwhile, FBI financial
crimes agent Phil Rask (Martin
Freeman) comes looking for Andy.
“We all did exhaustive research
to try and become cryptocur-
rency experts,” Ketai says. “After six
months of research for the writing
process and a year of making the
project, we found it’s such a difficult
world to wrap your head around.”
Ketai began his film career by
writing, directing and producing
digital series for Raimi’s Ghost
House Pictures. He moved into
features, co-writing and directing
30 Days of Night: Dark Days. Soon
after, he began his association with
Crackle as co-creator, writer and
director of the award-winning
thriller series Chosen.
StartUp’s follows a trio of tech geniuses being hunted down by a shady FBI
agent with Martin Freeman, Edi Gathegi, Otmara Marrero and Adam Brody.
Ketai, who has written and
directed for various studios and
producers, lists his latest screen-
writing credits as the supernatural
thriller The Forest and the fact-
based horror film Johnny Frank
Garrett’s Last Word.
He recently directed the psycho-
logical horror film, Beneath, released
on iTunes. For the gaming sector, he
directed the live-action portion of
Microsoft’s Quantum Break.
“I hope to continue making
StartUp,” he says. “There are differ-
ent facets of the process that I have
to juggle so time management is
the hardest part. It’s about having
a good plan every morning while
being flexible and communicative.
“The most important lesson I’ve
learned in the film industry is sur-
rounding yourself with people you
trust. You can take on any number
of tasks or any load if there are
people around you that you can
trust to do tasks for you. It’s the key
to successful filmmaking — and
any other business, too.”
Ketai, who had his bar mitzvah
at Temple Israel, has not written
Jewish content into this first season
but anticipates that will happen if
the series continues.
“Because this is set in Miami, the
natural melting pot of all cultures,
including Jews, any upcoming
seasons will have opportunities to
expand into Jewish culture,” the
writer-director says.
“This season is about Haitians
and Cubans, and viewers start to
get a little taste of the Russian mob.
By the time we hopefully go to
other seasons, every ethnic group
that exists in the United States will
be represented in some way.”
Ketai is married to former Metro
Detroiter Rachel Lewis Ketai, an
English instructor, and they have
one son and another on the way.
For quiet and mind-fresh time, he
wakes up early to write and appre-
ciates benefits of web program-
ming.
“Crackle is easier to use than
other big-streaming networks,”
he says. “Viewers don’t need a
subscription; it’s completely free.
People can go to Crackle.com
on their computers or go to the
Crackle app on smartphones.
“Just click, and all the content
is there. All 10 episodes can be
watched alone or binge-watched for
at least a year.”
*
details
StartUp begins Tuesday, Sept. 6,
on Crackle.
September 1 • 2016
45