ENTERTAINMENT The Peters Principle

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Jon Peters' way with a checkbook is no less legendary in Hollywood than are his films (Batman, Rain Man). Two years ago, when Columbia's new owner, Sony, hired Peters and partner Peter Guber to head the studio, the pair's deliriously lucrative deal ($200 million for their production company alone) set a Hollywood record. Soon the partners were spending money as fast as the Treasury could print it: $40 million for Warren Beatty's Bugsy, $50 million for Steven Spielberg's Hook. Peters, 44, also became known for such extravagances as spending $80,000 on a colleague's surprise party and delivering flowers to his girlfriend -- by jet.

So that weird whistling sound heard throughout Hollywood last week may have been the collective sigh of relief from Columbia's bookkeepers upon learning that Peters is stepping down. Said to be dissatisfied with his deskbound duties, the former hairdresser is launching an independent company that will produce projects exclusively for Sony. What they will cost remains to be seen.