Does Hollywood Hate Women?

Yes! says Nikki Finke, who reports that Sony’s Sir Howard Stringer recently called the Columbia Pictures logo lady a fatty in public, and also that Warner Bros. — following expensive flops starring Jodie Foster (The Brave One) and Nicole Kidman (The Invasion) — is “no longer doing movies with women in the lead.�

No! says Jeffrey Wells. The problem’s not with the actresses, but with the producer: “[Jeff] Robinov should actually be saying that Warner Bros. ‘is no longer doing female-starring thrillers and actioners produced by Joel Silver,’� reminding readers that Silver was behind both The Brave One and The Invasion.

Today, Variety’s Anne Thompson files the spin story: There is no story! Warner Bros. is committed to women, and Robinov is offended by the accusations he’s a sexist pig. Why, some of his best friends are chick flicks! The studio is slaving away on the Sex and the City movie right now as well as a laundry list of other estrogen-friendly titles.

So who knows who’s right? We just know that if roles for women start getting scarce, there’s one part that’s still apparently available for the right (skinny) actress, as long as she’s willing to wear a toga and hold up a torch. —Amy Monaghan

Update: Nikki Finke promises “the real facts behind Jeff Robinov’s ‘denial’� are coming soon.