Aykroyd Culls Boondocks for Latest Comedy

Dan Aykroyd, the comedic actor who won an Oscar nomination last year for his dramatic performance in “Driving Miss Daisy,” has turned his talents to directing.

In addition to writing and starring in “Valkenvania,” Aykroyd is also directing and editing.

“It’s sort of a hell on earth based on my observations of just driving around different sections of the Northeast,” Aykroyd said.

“The idea for this picture came from experiences I had tooling through that kind of country on my motorcycle. I got stopped by cops who hauled me in to see weird country judges.

“One time I was going about five miles over the speed limit, and the cop took me back into the woods to a decaying house with rusty old stoves and refrigerators in the front yard.

“Inside the dilapidated old mansion was this woman judge in her 70s or 80s. She got out of bed with curlers in her hair, made me pay for the ticket and then served me tea and kept me there for three hours.

“When I got out, I thought she could have dropped me through the floor, and I would never be seen again--if she didn’t like actors. She didn’t know I was a performer.

“The memory of that experience stuck with me. You can still find these characters in the boondocks running their own shows.”