Coming To America Movie

Television talk show host Arsenio Hall testified Monday that he and comedian Eddie Murphy, not humorist Art Buchwald, conceived the idea for the movie "Coming to America" in 1987, four years after Buchwald's original story idea was optioned by Paramount Pictures.

Paramount Appeals Buchwald Verdict: Paramount Pictures has filed a notice of appeal challenging a Los Angeles judge's ruling that the Eddie Murphy film "Coming to America" was based on a treatment written by columnist Art Buchwald. Attorney Charles Diamond, who represents the studio, said the appeal was filed last week. Earlier this year, a judge ordered Paramount to pay Buchwald and producer Benjamin Melniker $900,000 in a breach of contract suit over the film.

In a trial that promises to give the public a rare glimpse into the highest levels of Hollywood wheeling and dealing, humorist Art Buchwald and producer Alain Bernheim are taking Paramount Pictures to court Thursday, a year after suing the film company for allegedly stealing Buchwald's story concept to make the hit 1988 release "Coming to America," starring Eddie Murphy.

There's a folk tale about the laws of nature that goes something like this: An asp asks a turtle for a ride across a river. "No way," says the turtle, "you'll bite me." "I'd be crazy to bite you," the snake says. "If I bite you, you'll die and I'll never get to the other side." The turtle can't deny the logic of this and tells the snake to hop aboard. Halfway across the river, the snake bites the turtle on the neck.

Court documents and other papers obtained by The Times on Saturday attempt to explain how Paramount Pictures' Eddie Murphy comedy "Coming to America" sold more than $350 million worth of tickets to moviegoers around the world without turning a profit. The papers show that the bulk of the studio's $151 million share of box office receipts has been written off to the cost of producing, marketing and distributing the movie, and to contractual obligations to share receipts from the gross income.

Paramount Pictures has announced the extension of its relationship with Eddie Murphy with whom they have been associated since the actor's 1982 motion picture debut in "48 HRS." Under the terms of the agreement, he will continue to produce in television as well as feature films and star in four films for the studio--two of which he owed Paramount under terms of his existing deal plus two additional movies.

After a spirited trial that provided a rare look inside the convoluted world of Hollywood bookkeeping, Art Buchwald's allegation that Paramount Pictures stole his story and converted it into the $300-million Eddie Murphy film "Coming to America" was handed over to a judge Thursday to decide. Superior Court Judge Harvey Schneider, who admitted from the bench he is something of a "film buff," said he probably will rule next week on a case that unfolded as a plagiaristic whodunit.

As the final phase of humorist Art Buchwald's lawsuit against Paramount Pictures heats up, the studio is doing battle with one of the town's pre-eminent talent agencies, the William Morris Agency. Paramount has subpoenaed all contracts between the years 1975 and 1987 in which a William Morris client received fees for producing services on a film.

Paramount Appeals Buchwald Verdict: Paramount Pictures has filed a notice of appeal challenging a Los Angeles judge's ruling that the Eddie Murphy film "Coming to America" was based on a treatment written by columnist Art Buchwald. Attorney Charles Diamond, who represents the studio, said the appeal was filed last week. Earlier this year, a judge ordered Paramount to pay Buchwald and producer Benjamin Melniker $900,000 in a breach of contract suit over the film.

If Art Buchwald won the first two phases of his breach-of-contract trial against Paramount Pictures, many Hollywood insiders agree that he fared poorly in the third. Given Judge Harvey A. Schneider's determination that "Coming to America" was based on Buchwald's treatment and the judge's conclusion that the studio's net profit formula is essentially unfair, the award of $150,000 to Buchwald and $750,000 to his producing partner Alain Bernheim was seen as surprisingly low.

In a decision closely watched by Hollywood, a Los Angeles judge Monday ordered Paramount Pictures to pay humor columnist Art Buchwald and his producing partner $900,000 in a breach of contract suit over the Eddie Murphy film "Coming to America." The ruling by Superior Court Judge Harvey A. Schneider was far lower than the $6.2 million sought by attorneys for Buchwald and producer Alain Bernheim, but sizable nonetheless.

Film critic Michael Medved was paid $200 an hour to assist Paramount Pictures in defending the breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by syndicated columnist Art Buchwald, he testified Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Medved, co-host of "Sneak Previews," a weekly program carried nationally on public television, said he is a sometime "script doctor" who occasionally writes screenplays, although none has been turned into a film. He said he sometimes gives movie producers marketing advice.

Barry Blaustein, the co-screenwriter of "Coming to America," denounced writer Art Buchwald and producer Alain Bernheim for claiming credit for "creating" the 1988 hit comedy, as testimony in the long-running civil case ended Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court. "Ideas do not make a movie--a successful movie," said Blaustein, going public with his anger for the first time since Buchwald filed the suit against Paramount Pictures in 1988.

Humorist Art Buchwald and producer Alain Bernheim should receive between $5 million and $10 million for their contributions to the 1988 hit comedy, "Coming to America," their attorney told a Los Angeles Superior Court judge Monday as the third phase of their trial against Paramount Pictures began.

Some of the scenes are likely to run on too long, and a few of the performances may well be less than scintillating. But the story line for the long-awaited Buchwald vs. Paramount Pictures: Part III, which debuts today, promises to have plenty of audience appeal. It is being billed as a rare inside glimpse into just how money is made in Hollywood.

As Art Buchwald's accountants began going over the Paramount books in their legal battle over "Coming to America," they ran into their first snub when they tried to visit the Paramount commissary for lunch and were told they were not allowed. Buchwald phoned them later in the day and said he would have pizza delivered over the coming weeks while they pored over an estimated 95,000 line items charged to the Eddie Murphy comedy.

Humorist Art Buchwald's legal war with Paramount Pictures over the Eddie Murphy film "Coming to America" may have garnered the headlines, but another lawsuit over the movie is attracting its share of intrigue and controversy. On the morning of Feb. 13, police kicked in the door to Room 308 at the Beverly Hills St. Moritz Hotel Apartments and immigration agents apprehended Prince Johnny Osseni-Bello on a visa violation charge. He was deported Feb. 22 to the West African nation of Burkina Faso.

The final phase of the three-year-old Art Buchwald and Alain Bernheim suit against Paramount Pictures will tentatively go to trial on March 2. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Harvey Schneider set the date during a brief hearing on Friday.