Just Doing Comedy!Fun facts, wild true stories, and cringey ego-driven tea-spilling from behind the scenes of some of history's most beloved and infamous comedy movies.
Upon its release in 1988, Coming to America was a huge success, but because of challenges during filming it's a miracle the movie was made at all. Behind the scenes, Coming to America was a nightmare for comedian Eddie Murphy who, along with the rest of the cast and crew, pulled off one of the most sensational comedies of the 20th century. Murphy butted heads with longtime collaborator John Landis (who directed An American Werewolf in London and the music video for "Thriller"), andthe crew only had six months to make the entire movie.
Coming to America isn't the first time a comedy hit has overcome production problems; it wasn't even John Landis's first time dealing with behind-the-scenes blues. Even though the filmmakers faced serious adversity while on set, they managed to piece together a memorable staple of 1980s comedy. These stories don’t just shed light on Coming to America, they also provide insight into The Nutty Professor and Beverly Hills Cop III - both films that found their footing on the set of the little comedy movie that could.
The Set Was So Tense That Eddie Murphy Had His First And Last Drink While Filming
In an interview with Rolling Stone from 1989, Eddie Murphy came clean about a few things that happened while filming Coming to America. He admitted that even though he doesn't drink, the atmosphere on set was so toxic he ended up "bent over the toilet for hours" after drinking "a whole quart of Absolut vodka."
Murphy said that after "some weirdness" with John Landis, co-star Arsenio Hall gave him the vodka to help him settle down. Murphy proceeded to chug because he "thought a drink might help." As anyone who has ever chugged a quart of vodka in an attempt to "settle down" can attest, it is unsurprising that Murphy later declares, "That was the first and last time I’ll ever drink."
Production Began Just Months Before The Release Date
Most big budget studio films are completed well before they're due to appear in theaters, but that wasn't the case for Coming to America - it had a production life of only six months. There are rumors that the film was in post production all the way up to the day prints were shipped out to theaters.
While that may sound far fetched, the stress of the production definitely weighed on the cast and crew. It specifically hit Eddie Murphy and John Landis; their longtime friendship briefly fell apart during the making of the film.
John Landis Called Eddie Murphy "The Pig Of The World"
By 1988 Eddie Murphy had a few hits under his belt, but it wasn't until he landed Coming to America that he truly became a star. John Landis said Murphy had become "the pig of the world," and that he traveled with an entourage. Murphy recognized his stardom because he was able to leverage his success in order to get Landis onto the picture.
The tabloids noticed that Murphy was changing as well. They kept tabs on how much the actor was spending on himself and his friends, including a $235 McDonald's breakfast.
There Were Multiple Lawsuits Over The Content Of The Film
After the film was released, five different lawsuits came rolling in. One was from an actual African prince who claimed Eddie Murphy stole his life story. Political columnist Art Buchwald actually won his breach-of-contract suit by claiming to have written a script with Murphy in mind called King for a Day which he sold to Paramount Pictures in 1983. Some of Buchwald's statements were substantiated, but Paramount refuted by saying that even though Coming to America made nearly $300 million at the box office, it hadn't actually turned a profit. Paramount's argument coined the term "Hollywood Math," which reflects the fact that successful films can still end up losing money.
Producer Robert Wachs admits that there were similar ideas floating around Paramount, but he insists Murphy's film was original. In 2013 Wachs said, "Paramount had a story about a king who was a despot, and I told Paramount we weren’t interested in making that movie. We wanted Eddie to be the good guy. To have morals and ethics and whatnot."
James Earl Jones Referred To Eddie Murphy As An "Arctic Wind" On Set
According to John Landis, Eddie Murphy was a completely different person than the last time he worked with him on Trading Places. He claims that although he believes Murphy to be very talented, they "clashed quite a bit because he was such a pig, he was so rude to people." Landis alleges that James Earl Jones referred to the star as an "arctic wind" whenever he came on set.
Murphy later told Rolling Stone that he struggles with depression, although he thought it didn't make sense for someone of his stature to be depressed. He said, "I get depressed a lot. I was depressed this morning. It's just natural; it's human. My depressions are even more frustrating because I think, 'Why the f*ck am I depressed?"
McDonald's Was Surprisingly Chill About McDowell's
McDowell's, the fictional fast food restaurant where Prince Akeem and his friend Semmi work in order to experience life as normal people, is an obvious nod to McDonald's. Even though the filmmakers changed the color scheme and names of the food, they still had to ask permission from the burger conglomerate to poke a little fun.
In 2018, writer Barry Blaustein told Good Morning America, "They only had one request: when the guy robs him and puts the money into a bag, they asked to make it a plain white bag."
