"Moondog" Brings Bloodthirsty Monster to Bay Burger in Sag Harbor

[caption id="attachment_56185" align="alignnone" width="800"] Ben Rezendes as Garrett, left, and Ben Cole as Meathead, in “Moondog Airwaves.”[/caption]

By Dawn Watson

Transforming Bay Burger into a moody, retro late night diner was an exciting adventure for filmmaker Ari Selinger. Setting the scene there for a bloodthirsty monster to show up and take over the joint was even more fun.

The popular Sag Harbor eatery owned by Joe and Liza Tremblay was the primary setting for Mr. Selinger’s 33-minute short comedy/horror/love story film, “Moondog Airwaves,” which was shot back in 2013. The story, written and directed by the then-student as his thesis for New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, will screen for free at the Sag Harbor Cinema on Saturday, October 8, at noon, 1:30 and 3 p.m.

Starring Ben Rezendes, Steven Ogg, David Rysdahl, Ben Cole and Charlotte Buck, with voice work also included from the famed late disc jockey Wolfman Jack and appearances by Jason Liles, the creepy and campy thriller takes place on a dark and stormy full-moon night. Reminiscent of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks television series in tone, the eerie plot is supposed to unfold on July 5, 1995, though it could just as easily be happening in the mid-50s, thanks in large part to the music, and Wolfman Jack’s on-air commentary, which plays on an ever-present radio.

[caption id="attachment_56191" align="alignright" width="457"] Writer/director Ari Selinger on set at Bay Burger in Sag Harbor.[/caption]

Opening with a foreboding nighttime highway travel scene, the action quickly shifts to an evening at Bay Burger, aka the Delta Kream, as Trick, played by Mr. Rysdahl, and Meathead, played by Mr. Cole, practice with their brass instruments. A very unusual visitor, played by Mr. Ogg, crashes in and behaves quite oddly before disappearing. Shortly thereafter, the funky diner is visited by the sinister and menacing Garrett, played by Mr. Rezendes, soon followed by his cheerleader girlfriend, Rayette, played by Ms. Buck. The tension builds as each of these five characters’ behavior ensures that viewers will be on the edge of their seats.

Though the story presumably takes place in the south, setting the film here in Sag Harbor was important to the young filmmaker, whose parents Mark and Iris have a home in the village. The strong community and character of the village inspires him, he says.

“It’s just such a special place. I’ve been coming out here since before I was even born,” says Mr. Selinger. “I wanted to shoot here so much that I even changed the story to fit the atmosphere.”

The 25-year-old filmmaker, who is also credited as a producer and for the music on “Moondog,” has been making movies since he was 15, he says. This film was shot on a shoestring budget in about six nights at Bay Burger and a Sag Harbor municipal bathroom, recalled the writer/director/editor as he nibbled on a Joe & Liza’s ice cream sandwich on the front patio of Bay Burger last week. He’s extremely grateful for the generosity of the Tremblays for allowing him access to their restaurant for filming, he added.

Mr. Selinger says he also counts himself fortunate for casting Mr. Ogg in the film. The veteran actor, who had appeared on a number of crime dramas such as Law & Order and Person of Interest, had yet to get his big break when he was cast in “Moondog Airwaves,” recalls the filmmaker. That was about to change.

“About two weeks before we started shooting, I was walking on Houston Street in the city with Steven. He told me that he had just been cast as one of the leads in the “Grand Theft Auto” game,” says Mr. Selinger.

“Hopefully things will be looking up for me,” he remembers the actor saying.

“A few days later, I was walking down Houston again. And in that same spot where Steven said he hoped that things would look up, there was literally his face on a gigantic billboard hanging over SoHo,” he says. “It was surreal.”

Mr. Selinger, whose 2012 short “Deuce and a Quarter” was shot at Clam Bar in Napeague and in Montauk, will return to The End for his next film—a full-length feature titled “The Mississippi Sound.” That movie will be a “chase story” about a musician who finds overnight fame as an actor.

After that, the filmmaker’s next slated production returns to Sag Harbor. For that film, his impetus comes from local legend Paul Sidney, who was the voice of WLNG until his death in 2009. Written last year by Mr. Selinger, the short film will tell the backstory of what happened earlier in the night before the action that takes place in “Moondog Airwaves.”

Writing and shooting his films out on the East End is important to him, says Mr. Selinger. Not only does it inspire his creativity, but the landscape and the community are unique in their many treasures.

“I’m hoping that all the rest of my films will be shot out here,” he says. “There’s no place like it and no other place that I’d rather be.”