And lo, after the news that some Hollywood execs are mean, and that George Clooney can be brought down by crap reviews, the latest hilarious leak from the “Guardians of Peace” hacker group reveals that Hollywood screenwriters are as dismissive about female roles as we always suspected they were. Male ones, that is.

According to Aaron Sorkin, who wrote The Social Network (not a film which I recall shows any woman in any sort of depth), female film roles have “nothing close to the degree of difficulty” that male ones do. And so basically, goes the Sorkin logic, babes have an easier time getting to that old Oscar podium than the chaps do.

Watch more

There are so many stupid things about Sorkin’s comments, if the leaks are correct, that it is difficult to know where to start. A good place might be the old saw that the Best Actress gong was only invented so that viewers of the Oscar ceremony would have some fluff to enjoy amid all those dreary black ties and DJs. In other words, that women are simply tottering displays of ceremonial tinsel, held up with tit tape and heels. That their contribution to cinema is just decorative.

Indeed, Sorkin goes on to justify this notion. In his view, male actors have to clear a “much higher bar” than their female counterparts. Like Daniel Day-Lewis, writes Sorkin, whose brilliant portrayal of Abe Lincoln rightly won him the Best Actor Oscar. Unlike Julia Roberts, whose Oscar gong came for merely playing Erin Brockovich.

Best paid actresses in Hollywood 2013 Show all 10 1 /10 Best paid actresses in Hollywood 2013 Best paid actresses in Hollywood 2013 Sandra Bullock The Gravity star earned an impressive estimated $51 million from June 2013 to June 2014 Rex Best paid actresses in Hollywood 2013 Jennifer Lawrence Lawrence, here seen playing Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games franchise, took a reported $34 million in the past 12 months Best paid actresses in Hollywood 2013 Jennifer Anniston Horrible Bosses actress Anniston earned an estimated $31 million in the last year Getty Images Best paid actresses in Hollywood 2013 Gwyneth Paltrow Paltrow took an approximate $19 million after the success of 2013's top grossing film Iron Man 3 Best paid actresses in Hollywood 2013 Cameron Diaz Cameron Diaz, seen here in The Counsellor, earned an approximate $18 million Kerry Brown Best paid actresses in Hollywood 2013 Angelina Jolie Last year's list topper Angelina Jolie took around $18 million in the past 12 months but her large upfront payment for Maleficent was counted in last year's figures Getty Images Best paid actresses in Hollywood 2013 Scarlett Johansson Johansson, here seen in thriller Lucy, earned a reported $17 million between June 2013 and June 2014 Best paid actresses in Hollywood 2013 Amy Adams Adams, here seen arriving at the 2014 Golden Globes, earned around $13 million Getty Images Best paid actresses in Hollywood 2013 Natalie Portman Portman, known for Thor and Black Swan, earned an estimated $13 million between June 2013 and June 2014 PA Best paid actresses in Hollywood 2013 Kristen Stewart Twilight star Kristen Stewart, who topped the list two years ago, took a reported $12 million AP

According to Sorkin, she only won “for being brassy”. Really? I would suggest that the achievement of Roberts – whose performance as the dogged Brockovich fundamentally undermined the notion that an uncelebrated woman in a spaghetti-strap top might not have a brain – was actually a far more subtle one than that of Day-Lewis, who quite rightly took advantage of some 200 years of hero-worship, and a great brand of facial hair. But maybe that’s just me.

Just in case he comes over like a sour misogynist, which of course he doesn’t want to do, Sorkin does try to qualify his view a little. “Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep can play with the boys, but there just aren’t that many tour-de-force roles out there for women,” he explains.

Well, if that is the case, whose fault is that? Surely not the screenwriters, Sorkin? When I am bored, and on the London Underground, I play a little game. I look at the film posters, and count the male faces per film advertised, compared with the corresponding female ones. Alright, with rom-coms, the count is usually equal. But for everything else, including the Bond, Disney, Harry Potter and action movie franchises, it is usually about five male faces to that of one doughty woman.

Watch more

And so, Sorkin, if major features only see fit to give one part over to a woman, what hope is there of said woman playing a really meaty, nuanced role?

Interestingly, it seems that Sorkin’s silly outburst was prompted by Cate Blanchett’s Oscar for her performance in Blue Jasmine – a role, according to him, which had no “degree of difficulty”. Whereas Matthew McConaughey, who won the corresponding Best Actor Oscar for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, had some proper acting to do? Ha! I think Sorkin’s unease about Blanchett’s award might be more about the fact that she played a right old bitch, whereas McConaughey’s, although brilliantly executed, required a rather more straightforward “rogue to hero” journey for audiences to swallow.

I, for one, was rather amazed, and thrilled that Blanchett scooped the award. This is not just because I am a big Blanchett fan, but also because I have a novel coming out this summer whose leading lady is also, to put it bluntly, a right piece of work. “Why did you have a heroine who is a cow?” a friend asked me this weekend. I don’t really know. It just seemed more interesting. Maybe I should send a copy of the book to Sorkin.

That’s music to the ears of any competitive parent

Parents spend more on music lessons for their children than on any other out-of-school activity, a survey found this week. On average, we are coughing up nearly £500 a year on instrument lessons, compared with just over £400 for tuition and about the same for sport. Well, dur. Of course we are.