Art Buchwald Sues Paramount, Says It Used His Story for Film

Newspaper columnist Art Buchwald, in a lawsuit filed Monday, accused Paramount Pictures Corp. of misappropriating a story he wrote as the basis for its hit movie “Coming to America.”

In the Los Angeles Superior Court suit, Buchwald demanded compensation of at least $5 million from the studio plus unspecified punitive damages.

The columnist claimed that Paramount based its film--which starred Eddie Murphy and grossed more than $127.4 million at the box office last summer--on a movie treatment that Buchwald optioned to the studio in 1983.

A Paramount spokeswoman declined to comment, and an attorney for the studio didn’t return calls.

Murphy, who received a story credit for “Coming to America,” was not named as a defendant in the suit.

But the film’s co-producer, Robert Wachs, sharply disputed Buchwald’s claim to have created the story. “Do you really think that Eddie Murphy, the biggest movie star in the world, has either the desire or the need to take material that doesn’t belong to him? . . . . I know it to be 100% indisputable that this story is pure Eddie Murphy,” Wachs said.

Wachs noted that at least two pending lawsuits filed by others have claimed credit for the film as well. Buchwald had previously claimed credit for the story and said as early as last July that he was considering a lawsuit.

In his suit, the columnist said “Coming to America” was based on a treatment he had originally called “It’s a Crude, Crude World” and later retitled “King for a Day.” Buchwald’s story described the visit to the United States of an extremely wealthy, handsome and spoiled young African king.

According to the suit and a letter sent earlier this month to Paramount by Buchwald’s attorney, Pierce O’Donnell, the studio commissioned two screenplays based on “King for a Day,” at a cost of about $500,000. The scripts were designed as vehicles for Murphy, according to the suit.

But Paramount, after major management changes, told the columnist in 1985 that it was dropping the project. Buchwald and producer Alain Bernheim subsequently optioned their project to Warner Bros., but Warner later dropped it, citing similarities to the Paramount film.

The Murphy movie, which was directed by John Landis and co-written by David Sheffield and Barry Blaustein, tells the story of an African prince who comes to America in search of a woman who will love him for more than his money and title.

Sued Only the Studio

“You can’t copyright the concept of African nobility, any more than you can copyright American politics,” Wachs said.

On Monday, Buchwald said he sued only the studio and not Murphy because the issue at stake was breach of a contract between him and the studio. “There was no theft, no plagiarism” on Murphy’s part, the columnist said. The lawsuit alleges fraud, breach of contract and other illegal acts by Paramount in making the film.

Buchwald said he waited several months before filing the suit because his attorney had to interview witnesses and research his claims.

Asked why Paramount would have breached its contract with him, Buchwald said: “I don’t know. It’s one of those things. It’s all bureaucratic.”

Reached at home Monday evening, he was clearly reveling in the attention generated Monday by a Page 1 story in the Wall Street Journal about his intention to file suit. “I’m really enjoying this. I mean, the Wall Street Journal . . .” he said. He added: “As I told the New York Times, I not only want compensation. I want to make sure no Paramount executive ever gets a weekend furlough.”