The director, co-writer and stars of 2000 talk 1999 [Exclusive Interview]

In the second half of the film, as the techno monsters wreak havoc throughout the city, Eli, Laura and Ash decide to stop by their local video store to pick up something that might be useful to them. When they enter the video store, they come across a mysterious figure who turns out to be the famous rap-rock star of the late 90s and early 2000s, Fred Durst, frontman of the group Limp Bizkit, who just happens to be organizing a New Year's Eve party. New Year's Eve concert nearby.

Durst's role is little more than a cameo, as he becomes a central part of the film's third act, joining the group of wandering teenagers trying to survive this techno attack on the world. Needless to say, I had to ask everyone to work with Durst on the film.

What was it like working with Fred Durst, and was it always Fred Durst from the start? Because its inclusion, and I hadn't even thought about it until you talked about it a little bit in the Q&A at the Chicago screening, but it's really representative of that era of music and of pop culture in a way that almost no one else. East. It's a very specific window of time in pop culture. So did you have a backup plan if he wasn't interested, if it didn't work out?

Mooney: We definitely pitched ideas and he was there from the first moment. From the first week we talked about the movie, we were like, “Oh, it would be really fun to see Fred Durst fight with our heroes.” There were definitely locations. I don't even know if I want to name these names, but whatever we say, it's either because they weren't as recognizable in some way or they weren't are not part of the better side of culture these days.

Winter: Not a good person today.

Mooney: Yeah, Fred just checked all the boxes, and like you said, he's so iconic and so iconic, and he's got the hat. He's got everything going for him, so a lot of it depended on that, and he's the first person we went to when we found out the movie was going to happen, and if he hadn't taken the job, I wouldn't don't know what. we would have done it.

Winter: Yes, we were really lucky that he understood it and was interested and wanted to make fun of himself. He took it further in some places, but then also realized that it was like he was playing this public persona of himself from that era, but then in the way of an excised superhero and almost of an action star. It was so cool that he went for it and jumped on board with us.

Mooney: And just a really good actor.

Winter: Amazing actor, yeah.

Was Limp Bizkit a band you knew? Were you fans before? And what was it like working with him on set?

Martell: Definitely familiar. I didn't know what to expect from him as a person, given his personality, his look, his music. But he was such a kind and wise presence and kind of blew me away. There are certain things, because you expect a lot from an actor that you admire, or someone that you admire, and you kind of expect something from them. They might disappoint you. But I didn't know what to expect from Fred, and he was so nice, and so cool, and gentle, and curious, and open about his process as an artist, and being like an icon, and the pressure that this implies. all that. He was wonderful.

Julian Dennison didn't spend as much time with him, as his characters die earlier in the film before Fred Durst enters the story.

Dennison: Yeah, it was different for me, actually. We kind of shot the film chronologically.

All right. So you didn't really spend any time with him?

Dennison: Yeah, I didn't really spend any time with him. But meeting him at South by Southwest and after filming, yeah, I don't know, it's just that when you meet someone who's lived a lot of life and has a lot of wisdom, all you can really do is to be a sponge and soak it up. I think it was a highlight to be able to be in the same room with him. It's as if he defines a generation or a thing of time, like a certain era. I think it's pretty crazy that we can do what we can do.