The article "The most hilarious comedies, from ‘Coming to America’ to ‘Ghostbusters,’ had a dark side: book" by Larry Getlen (16 May 2019, New York Post) quotes several anecdotes from Nick de Semlyen's upcoming book “Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the ’80s Changed Hollywood Forever” (Crown Archetype, out May 28). Of particular relevance is this part:
While that particular feud was not his doing, Murphy caused plenty of drama, according to de Semlyen.
His much-loved “Coming to America” (1988), which is getting a sequel in 2020, starred Murphy as an African prince who comes to America to find his queen.
The biggest star in Hollywood at the time, he chose his “Trading Places” (1983) director, John Landis, to helm the movie.
But the joy we see on screen was not replicated on the troubled set.
“Eddie was such a monster star now, and it was different,” Landis says in the book. “He had lost the sparkle. He could summon it forth and still be incredibly creative and brilliant, but he was dark on that movie.”
The schedule for the filming was shorter than what Landis felt was needed — a dance-off on a New York street involving Murphy, Michael Jackson and Prince was scrapped.
As it turns out, this has been mentioned before: "11 things you didn’t know about Coming To America" (26 June 2018, VirginMedia):
5 - It almost starred Michael Jackson… and Prince
When the movie went into production, there was a plan to include a cameo-studded scene in which Akeem has a dance-off in a New York street with both Michael Jackson (whose Thriller video had been directed by John Landis) and Prince. However, thanks to a very tight filming schedule, it proved too ambitious to pull off.
Nick de Semlyen points to “Fatal Subtraction: The Inside Story of Buchwald V. Paramount” by Pierce O'Donnell and Dennis McDougal (Doubleday, 1992) as his source.