While Limp Bizkit would end up becoming one of the biggest bands in the ’90s, achieving musical fame was not the initial intention of Fred Durst.
It was during a recent chat with Bill Mahr on the comedian’s podcast Club Random House that the Limp Bizkit singer talked about how he always wanted to be a filmmaker, and what got him into music was hearing how famous film directors had shot music videos.
With this in mind, Durst envisioned Limp Bizkit as his “Spinal Tap” of sorts, which he thought of as a vehicle that would guide him toward his filmmaking goals.
In regard to this desire to become a filmmaker and envisioning Limp Bizkit as his own “Spinal Tap,” Durst shared the following (which was transcribed by The PRP):
“I’m not much of a musician to be honest with you. I grew up on a farm in North Carolina and I always wanted to be a filmmaker. And so I had read that James Foley, who directed ‘Glengarry Glen Ross‘ & ‘At Close Range‘… I read that he directed music videos, Martin Scorsese directed music videos, David Fincher… And so I said ‘Man, I’ll put together a band.’
“My Spinal Tap, you know my spark, sparks my thing. And I was obsessed with Andy Kaufman and things like that. And I said I’ll put together this Spinal Tap and direct the music video and go to Hollywood and start making movies. And that’s not how it happened.”
Mahr then asks Durst if Limp Bizkit was initially meant to be a vehicle for him to get into filmmaking. In response to this, Durst said:
“That’s what it started out as, yeah. So it’s a blessing in disguise.”
It is funny how things work out – Limp Bizkit went on to become a mega-successful metal band (still loved to this day), and Durst has so far directed three films.
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