Durst Says Time Is Right For His Movie About School Outcast

Fred Durst says he can help explain the violence plaguing America's schools with his upcoming filmmaking debut, "Runts," about a high school outcast.

"Crazy things are happening that don't need to be happening, and people are retaliating in the wrong way," the Limp Bizkit frontman said. "This movie needs to happen now."

But the film is still far from hitting theaters. Durst said if a threatened actors strike hits Hollywood this summer, production will not begin until the strike is over. The project has been in development for more than a year.

"There are so many movie studios that are scared to touch subject matter like this, but I think it's real. ... I think it will help people understand the underdog."

In the meantime, the singer has been busy directing videos for Staind and Cold and playing label exec while Limp Bizkit take a break from the road. Durst, who was named a senior vice president at Interscope in 1999, has been working with new signings to his Flawless imprint, including a singer from Virginia Beach, Virginia, named Kenna and a rock group called Puddle of Mudd.

Durst was turned on to Kenna by production duo the Neptunes, who produced Kenna's New Sacred Cow album. The LP should be out in late summer.

Durst met the singer for Puddle of Mudd, Wesley Scantlin, when Scantlin sneaked backstage at a Limp Bizkit show in Kansas City, Missouri, and gave him a demo tape.

"I was like, 'Holy sh--, who is this guy?" Durst recalled. "I checked him out in Kansas City � his band wasn't that killer, but he was a great songwriter. We brought him out to work with us and set him up with some dudes I used to jam with in Jacksonville[, Florida]. We put them together and luckily the chemistry was right, and now Puddle of Mudd is a really good rock band."

The group recently finished recording its debut, which is due in July.

Durst said his job as record mogul is simply giving artists a kick start � from there, it's up to them.

"I think every artist that I'm working with has bigger dreams than me. I think that's the key. They need to build their own empires. I'm just getting their foot in the door."

Bizkit To Write 'Totally Opposite' LP From Starfish, Durst Says

Limp Bizkit will resort to self-inflicted torture this summer to write the "heaviest album you've ever heard," frontman Fred Durst says.

"We're gonna go in, no air-conditioning, 130 degree room, just mad as f---, and just go there," he said. "We need to go there.

"We have a lot to say now, and we're really emotional," he continued. "The success has allowed us to step back and look at the world."

Durst said Limp Bizkit have worked on some new material during sound checks, but they plan to start largely afresh when they return from their European tour in late June.

The singer said the album will be "totally opposite" from last year's Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, even going as far as to call it "anti-Chocolate Starfish."

But Limp Bizkit aren't so over their current album that they're done spinning off material from it � a slew of "My Way" remixes are on the way, including renditions by Puff Daddy and William Orbit (Madonna). Durst described Puffy's version � which he said he'll release online � as "real simple" and Orbit's as more "driving." DJ Premier and DJ Lethal are also each remixing the song, Durst said. "The more you hear ["My Way"], the more you understand it and relate to it," he said, explaining the reason for the multiple remixes. "It's one of those songs that will grow on you."

The members of Limp Bizkit are pursuing separate projects while the band is on a break from the road until early May. DJ Lethal is working on his solo debut, while guitarist Wes Borland is touring with his side project, Big Dumb Face. Durst is also fiddling with some solo music, in between various other projects that range from directing videos for Staind and Cold to preparing for his film directorial debut with a movie called "Runts." The singer said he'll put out a solo album some day, but for now, it's low on his list of priorities.

"Limp Bizkit isn't in the studio every single day, but Lethal is with his stuff, Wes is with his stuff, and I am at my house with my stuff," he said. "I have things I'm working on that are just me � I create everything from drums to guitar, bass � everything. It's a whole 'nother side to see."