A look inside Hollywood and the movies : WORDS FOR LUNCH BUNCH : Next From Julia Phillips: ‘Power Lesbians of Hollywood.’ Should Be Lively.

Two years ago, former producer Julia Phillips set the town on its ear with her No. 1 bestseller “You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again,” a scathing tale of her own rise and fall that pretty much reinvented the kiss-and-tell Hollywood tome.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Phillips is working on a follow-up that has a few of the movie industry’s most powerful women on pins and needles.

The object of all this buzz and worry is Phillips’ “Power Lesbians of Hollywood” essay, tentatively scheduled for the February issue of Harper’s Bazaar. A try-out piece for what both sides say they hope will become a regular West Coast column in the magazine, Phillips’ article, subtitled “Hot on the Trail of Les Lesbians Dangereuses,” is intended as an interpretive piece that puts what she calls “the power trend of the moment” in perspective.

“I pitched the editors of Harper’s the idea by saying the watchword for the ‘90s in Hollywood is lesbian ,” says Phillips. “They loved the idea. The article is going to be about a lot of things.”

Such as? “Such as ‘Is Hollywood still homophobic?’ You’re damn right it’s still homophobic. But mainly, I’m examining how this group of women has become a very potent force in Hollywood, much like gay men became a potent force in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Lesbians in Hollywood aren’t invisible anymore. There’s a very glamorous set coming up and they’re not taking anything from anybody. I’m going to cover the whole spectrum of lesbians in power: From the young and the beautiful to the mustache-on-upper-lip-in-black-leather-jackets crowd.”

Contrary to rumor, Phillips says she will not be “outing” anyone in her article, which is written in the style of her first book. “Oh please, is that what they’re worried about?” she asks. “This is not an issue. I have around 10 to 15 women attributed on the record. They name their own names. I’ve interviewed around 100 women for this, by the way.”

In the article, Phillips reveals sub-movements within the power lesbians trend. Unlike the powerful gay men who consolidated their power and formed a network to help each other, Phillips has found that Hollywood’s lesbians in power have not done this.

“There’s no circuits for them, by the way,” she says. “I asked these women, ‘Aren’t you going to be smart like the boys and help each other with jobs?’ And they universally responded, ‘No, because women are bitchy to each other.’ ”

Strangely enough, Phillips also intends to report that because being lesbian has become a chic ‘90s thing to do, many straight individuals are faking homosexual behavior to get ahead in the industry.

Phillips’ interest in journalism began soon after the Los Angeles riots. She wrote a piece for the New York Times on the situation. They wanted three pages, she turned in 23. “I write long, what can I say?”

Although the piece never ran, it was passed around in the magazine industry and received a favorable response. She received several offers from other publications and says she will dabble in magazine journalism while she finishes her second book, a novel about--what else?--Hollywood.

“To be honest, I’m doing some of these pieces because I have a tax problem,” she says with a good-natured laugh. “I’m going to start every piece by saying, ‘Hi, I’m Julia Phillips and the IRS wants my head.’ Actually, I’m enjoying working on these pieces. I think the lesbian piece is really going to be a consequential work. I like any outlaw group that makes themselves apparent.”

Fans of Phillips have another magazine piece of hers to look forward to in 1993 along with the Harper’s Bazaar story.

“I’ve just written 2,000 words for Allure on liposuction,” confirms Phillips. “It’s a riot.”