Decision Nears on Amount Paramount Owes Buchwald : * Trial: The humorist and his partner say the value of their contribution to “Coming to America” is at least $3 million.

A judge moved closer Friday to determining how much humorist Art Buchwald and a producer should be paid for originating the idea for the Eddie Murphy box-office hit “Coming to America.”

Buchwald and partner Alain Bernheim claim that the value of their contribution to the film is between $3 million and $25 million.

Paramount Pictures contends that the hit, which grossed $139 million, is still in the red and says the two deserve $300,000 or less.

Barry Blaustein, who co-wrote the movie, testified Friday that he couldn’t believe it has lost money. He said he and partner David Sheffield were to receive 5% of the film’s net profits, but “have not yet received a dime.”

Outside court, Blaustein said Paramount’s accounting on the 1988 film was “creative” and untruthful.

Blaustein also disputed Buchwald’s claim to a share of the profits. He held up a copy of Buchwald’s “treatment,” or story sketch. “This is not ‘Coming to America,’ ” he said. “This is a three-page treatment.”

He said he was tired of hearing that “Coming to America” was Buchwald’s movie. “It’s not. . . . The writer writes the movie and everyone else takes credit for it.”

On the stand, Blaustein said director John Landis had to intercede so co-star Arsenio Hall, who came up with just a handful of story ideas, wouldn’t claim partial screenwriting credit.

Buchwald said he never claimed to have written “Coming to America,” a comedy about an African prince in New York.

Superior Court Judge Harvey Schneider previously ruled that the movie was based on Buchwald’s idea, although the studio insisted that it was Murphy’s creation.

The case dates to a 1983 Paramount contract for rights to Buchwald’s story “King for a Day.” The studio dropped its option to make such a movie in 1985 but released “Coming to America” in 1988 with no credit to Buchwald.