The Germs biopic "What We Do Is Secret" will hit U.S. theaters in August thanks to a newly signed distribution deal with Peace Arch Entertainment, Billboard has learned. Screenings will be held New York (Aug. 8), Chicago (Aug. 15) and Los Angeles (Aug. 23).
Co-writer/director Rodger Grossman spent 10 years trying to get the movie made, ultimately convincing the mother of late Germs frontman Darby Crash to give her approval.
Actor Shane West portrays Crash, who died of a heroin overdose at age 22 in 1980. The other actors who play the Germs' members were taught to play instruments by Pat Smear, the band's original guitarist and music producer on the film, and their recordings were used in the movie.
The surviving members of the band actually toured with West as lead singer in recent years.
"[West] got so close to being Darby that it actually freaked out a lot of the scenesters that came by the set," Grossman told Billboard.com in 2005. "He committed to doing this role in a way that I've never seen an actor commit to do anything. He read all the books that Darby read. He got blue contacts and prosthetic teeth permanently affixed to his, which had to be 'chipped out' so his teeth were more like Darby's."
For Peach Arch, "Secret" joins upcoming U.S. theatrical releases such as the sports drama "Goal II" and "The Go-Getter," starring Zooey Deschanel and Jena Malone.
Co-writer/director Rodger Grossman spent 10 years trying to get the movie made, ultimately convincing the mother of late Germs frontman Darby Crash to give her approval.
Actor Shane West portrays Crash, who died of a heroin overdose at age 22 in 1980. The other actors who play the Germs' members were taught to play instruments by Pat Smear, the band's original guitarist and music producer on the film, and their recordings were used in the movie.
The surviving members of the band actually toured with West as lead singer in recent years.
"[West] got so close to being Darby that it actually freaked out a lot of the scenesters that came by the set," Grossman told Billboard.com in 2005. "He committed to doing this role in a way that I've never seen an actor commit to do anything. He read all the books that Darby read. He got blue contacts and prosthetic teeth permanently affixed to his, which had to be 'chipped out' so his teeth were more like Darby's."
For Peach Arch, "Secret" joins upcoming U.S. theatrical releases such as the sports drama "Goal II" and "The Go-Getter," starring Zooey Deschanel and Jena Malone.
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