'Cop' Could Carry Beverly Hills Prices.

SEVEN years after "Beverly Hills Cop III," a fourth installment in the Paramount Pictures' series may be coming to the screen.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Top Gun," "Con Air") has hired Jason Richman -- a onetime rock guitarist who wrote the upcoming Chris Rock-starrer "Black Sheep" - to tackle the script, which could prove a boon for Paramount if Eddie Murphy commits to playing Detroit cop Axel Foley once again.

The previous "Cop" movies combined have earned close to $1 billion around the world.

But getting the picture off the ground could prove an expensive proposition. Murphy's star has been on the rise with "The Nutty Professor" and its sequel, "The Klumps," as well as "Dr. Dolittle" and its follow-up, due out this sum mer. He has also had terrific box office and critical acclaim for his voiceover work in "Shrek."

All this means that, if Murphy does do "Cop IV," he could earn as much as $25 million for the job, not to mention a hefty chunk of the back end. That's about 100 times what Bruckheimer had to pay his latest leading man, Ben Affleck for "Pearl Harbor."

"Beverly Hills Cop IV" is just one of a slew of sequels in the works, as studios do their utmost to launch brand-name content that can then become library staples.

Now Sony Pictures Entertainment is trying to get "Anaconda 2" off the ground, hoping for a repeat of the $65.5 million grosser's success. The studio has hired "RoboCop" scribes Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner to handle screenplay chores.

Convincing the cast to commit to sequels like this is a whole other question. Sony is still trying to persuade Will Smith and Martin Lawrence to make "Bad Boys 2," while Brendan Fraser's decision not to go ahead with a follow-up to "George in the Jungle" recently led Disney to opt for a direct-to-video version instead.

So far, Jennifer Lopez and Ice Cube -- costars of the original "Anaconda" -- haven't signed on for the sequel. And insiders say Sony is gearing its script to possible replacements. Speaking of Sony, studio insiders are dying to find out who's going to replace studio chairman John Calley -- if he actually leaves the job.

Contradictory rumors have been swirling about Calley's future at the company, where he has served as an executive since October 1996. For a long time, insiders believed Calley was going to retire this summer to a home in Vancouver, Canada.

But those rumors have now been squelched, and studio reps say Calley will remain at the studio at least until his contract runs out in November. About succession plans after that, both Calley and his boss, Sony Corp. of America chairman Howard Stringer, are keeping mum.

Elisabeth Shue ("Leaving Las Vegas") is joining the burgeoning list of actors who are turning to producing.

Shue is teaming with Danny DeVito's Jersey Films ("Pulp Fiction," "Erin Brockovich") to make a movie -- as yet untitled -- in which she will also star.

The project, described as being in the vein of "The Bad News Bears," centers on a woman who coaches a little league baseball team.