COMPANY TOWN

Movies: Paramount Pictures has agreed to pay Hollywood screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (“Basic Instinct”) $2 million for a “blind” script commitment. If the movie is actually made, Eszterhas can potentially earn $4 million, sources said. Eszterhas plans to give Paramount movie Chairman Sherry Lansing three ideas within the next six months. Sources said Eszterhas is to receive a $500,000 signing bonus, another $750,000 when he begins writing and an additional $750,000 when he turns in the first draft. Paramount is making the deal because top brass is enthused with Eszterhas’ upcoming movie “Jade,” due out Oct. 13. The thriller, starring David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino and Chazz Palminteri, was directed by Lansing’s filmmaker husband, William Friedkin. Eszterhas previously wrote “Sliver” for Paramount and is working on “Reliable Sources” for the studio, which Carl Franklin will direct. Eszterhas recently left his longtime agent Guy McElwaine of International Creative Management for the William Morris Agency, reportedly because some of his high-priced spec scripts, including “Original Sin,” “One Night Stand” and “Foreplay” were stalled in development. When ICM failed to sell his latest script, “Blaze of Glory,” based on the life of soul legend Otis Redding, Eszterhas jumped ship.