MOVIES - July 13, 1988

Eddie Murphy created his movie, “Coming to America,” solely on his own, without any help from columnist Art Buchwald, Murphy’s manager Robert Wachs said Monday. “I’m a great admirer of Art, but I don’t see how Eddie is responsible. This should just be between (Buchwald) and Paramount’s lawyers,” Wachs told The Times. But Buchwald, a widely read humorist whose column appears in The Times, says the star vehicle is awfully similar to a story he wrote three years ago, titled “It’s a Crude, Crude World”--and which he subsequently took to Murphy as a movie property. But after spending $500,000 for rewrites on the story, Murphy’s production company dropped his story, Buchwald told The Times. “During all this they were telling me that Murphy loved the movie. I’m not saying they stole my story, but the character is the same. . . . The only difference is that my prince went to Washington (instead of New York),” said Buchwald, who added he first learned of Murphy’s movie last October. “And when they were making the movie, Paramount was telling me not to worry, that the movies were different. Well--now I’m worried,” Buchwald said. Buchwald said he doesn’t want to sue, but will if he has to. Paramount declined to comment Tuesday.