BUT NOOOOOOOOO . . .

When we last checked in with Paramount’s prized comedy kid, Eddie Murphy was set to do “Golden Child” next, with “Mad Max” director George Miller close to a deal to direct. But nooooooooo. Now we learn that Murphy wants to do a light comedy first. Said Murphy manager Bob Wachs in a phone interview, “Eddie is considering a number of projects to do between now and the January ’86 start date” of “Golden Child.”

Is there a leading candidate? “Yeah,” Wachs said, but declined to say what it was.

But we found out anyway: It’s called “The Butterscotch Kid,” a comedy developed in-house at Paramount and written by former “Saturday Night Live” head writers Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield.

Meanwhile, Paramount is abuzz with reports that Miller isn’t going to direct “Golden Child” after all. Wachs said the Australian is still very much in the running: “George told me he would still love to do it, but he’s in Australia promoting his movie (“Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome”) and the three of us need to sit down and talk.”

The saga continues. . . .