Anyone who knew the band probably would have laughed at you if you said that one day, there would be a Hollywood biopic of The Germs, with a big TV star living out his dream to play the band’s lead singer, Darby Crash.

That film, What We Do Is Secret, arrives on DVD this week after a very brief theatrical run, an example of the sorts of films that are finding the better part of their commercial life away from the theatres, and a labour of love for its director and star.

Lorna Doom was Terri Ryan when she met Darby Crash in high school, and was renamed in typical punk style when they started the band and recorded Forming, one of the most gleefully incompetent punk rock singles ever released. The band got better, and managed to be wildly influential despite getting banned from every rock club in Los Angeles before Crash overdosed himself the night before John Lennon was shot.

“If he hadn't have done it when he did it he probably would have done it a few years later,” Lorna tells me, recalling her friend, who’s played by E.R.’s Shane West in the film. “Unless we had become massively successful, but that wasn't an option.”

Director Rodger Grossman started planning the film after leaving film school, over a decade ago, getting Doom and bandmates Pat Smear (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) and Don Bolles on board to consult, before West signed on and helped get the film’s tiny budget financed.

West is a rabid fan of The Germs, and has even taken the singer’s place in a re-formed Germs since filming was completed.

There are a lot of films like What We Do Is Secret – decent, watchable products of real inspiration  that probably never stood a chance of release in the ever-tightening theatrical market of blockbusters, multiplexes and “tent pole films”. 

The movie industry seems to have created a yawning gulf between major releases and cult films, which includes practically everything else, most of which only gets a real shot at an audience on DVD.

“I think it's the people who were around during the time, and people who were curious and missed the scene,” says Lorna. “It's kind of like our audience. People who want to see where punk rock began.”

Actor’s dedication
• E.R. actor Shane West  went to great lengths to portray the musician.
• West, who was a toddler when Crash died, got an identical tattoo, and altered his teeth to replicate Crash’s.