Trivia / Nothing but Trouble

• Acting for Two:
  • Dan Aykroyd plays both Valkenheiser and Bobo.
  • Also John Candy as Dennis and Eldona.
• Based on a Dream: Dan Aykroyd based some of the more outandish elements, such as the mutant twin babies, on a series of dreams he'd been having.
• Box Office Bomb: Budget, $40 million. Gross, $8,479,793.
• Breakaway Pop Hit: Digital Underground's "Same Song". The movie was panned by critics and was a box office flop, but the song was a hit.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Dan Aykroyd also wanted to play Chris Thorne, but the studio wanted Chevy Chase to play that role and Aykroyd agreed.
• Copiously Credited Creator: Dan Aykroyd directed, produced, wrote the script and played two roles.
• Creator Backlash: Chevy Chase made fun of the movie while promoting The Chevy Chase Show.
• Creator Killer: This served as Dan Aykroyd's only directorial effort.
• Doing It for the Art: After failing to get a director to sign to the film, Dan Aykroyd agreed to direct to secure the funds and get it made, despite not wanting to direct at all.
• Hostility on the Set: Chevy Chase was verbally abusive to everyone on set, tried to speak on Demi Moore's behalf about her "skimpy" costume, and stated that he had more worth than Dan Aykroyd because Chase had the bigger paycheck. The crew was furious at Chase's treatment of Aykroyd, with one crew member even threatening to drop a brick on Chase's head if he ever spoke to the director like that again.
• Inspiration for the Work: The film was based on Dan Aykroyd's personal experiences. In 1978, he was pulled over for speeding in upstate New York and was taken to the justice of the peace to stand trial in what Dan referred to as a "kangaroo court", and after he was fined $50, the justice of the peace invited Dan to stay for tea, and he ended up staying there for four hours.
• Playing Against Type: Dan Aykroyd relished the opportunity to play a bad guy for once.
• Recycled Set: Valkenvania was built on the same western backlot set that was used for High Noon.
• Release Date Change: Originally slated for a Christmas 1990 release, it was pushed back in order for the film to be re-edited.
• Star-Derailing Role: Chevy Chase could basically do no wrong before this film, starring in a parade of hits such as the National Lampoon's Vacation films, ¡Three Amigos!, Spies Like Us and so on. After Nothing But Trouble, its negative reception and word of his difficult to work with personality finally becoming too much to deal with, his film career basically flatlined. He wouldn't find another hit film wise on his resume until Hot Tub Time Machine nearly 2 decades later.
• Troubled Production: As detailed here, this film could be classified as one, although it was a rare case where almost everyone actually enjoyed the experience, as Dan Aykroyd listened to and enacted all of the crazy ideas they threw at him and ballooned the budget (which only didn't strike studio Warner Bros. as much because they were already distracted with the mess that was The Bonfire of the Vanities). When the studio received the film, they deemed it a mess, and pressured Aykroyd to tone down the cartoonish violence while moving the release date. And then it bombed hard in theaters, while also ending Aykroyd's friendship with producer Robert K. Weiss (although they eventually reconciled later on, as Aykroyd later co-starred as Ray Zalinsky in the Weiss-produced Tommy Boy).
  • Because of the laborious makeup process for the parts of JP and Bobo, Aykroyd would often have to direct other scenes still in full makeup.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Dan Aykroyd offered the script to John Hughes, who was interested in the story, but ultimately turned it down because he only directed his own scripts. John Landis disliked the script and immediately turned it down. Ivan Reitman was also offered the job.
  • Jeff Goldblum was offered the role of Chris Thorne, but Warner Bros. didn't think he was a bankable enough star at the time and refused to cast him.
  • Aykroyd originally wanted Jane Curtin to play Miss Purdah, but she didnt like the script and turned it down. He also offered the role to Catherine O'Hara and she strongly considered the role as she wanted to reunite on a project with him and Candy, but she had just finished three films in 1990 alone and wanted to take a small break for the year from acting.
  • Aykroyd briefly considered Chris Farley for either Bobo or Little Debil because many labeled Farley as the next John Belushi or John Candy, but NBC would not allow Farley to be released from his contract from Saturday Night Live so Aykroyd played Bobo and hired another actor for Little Debil.
• Working Title: Git, Road to Ruin, Trickhouse and Valkenvania.

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