AWARDS Sure, it opened in December 1997, but "Titanic" was voted the best film of 1998 at last night's People's Choice Awards. Also taking home awards were Tim Allen, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Garth Brooks, Celine Dion, the TV shows "Mad About You," "Seinfeld," "Frasier," "ER," "L.A. Doctors," and the movie "There's Something About Mary." Nathan Lane won as best male performer in a new TV series, even though "Encore! Encore!" has been trounced in the ratings and its future is in doubt at NBC.... Veteran director Norman Jewison will receive the honorary Irving G. Thalberg memorial award at this year's Academy Awards. Jewison, who has directed such films as "Moonstruck" and "In the Heat of the Night," follows such other recipients as Steven Spielberg, Billy Wilder, and Alfred Hitchcock.

RECORD SETTING In addition to winning the People's Choice Award, "Titanic" has officially beaten "The Lion King" as the top-selling video of all time. James Cameron's epic has sold 57 million units worldwide (for an estimated $1 billion in retail revenue), while Disney's animated musical has sold between 55 and 56 million.

SIGNING OFF "The Nanny" will sign off permanently at the end of this season, as star, producer, and cocreator Fran Drescher said that she wanted the show to go out while on top. She may be a bit tardy: The CBS sitcom's ratings have been drastically dipping, with a 19 percent drop from last season.... The New York Daily News reported that Kate Mulgrew wants to resign her post as Capt. Kathryn Janeway on UPN's "Star Trek: Voyager," citing her fatigue with the long work hours and wanting to spend more time with her family. However, the show's studio, Paramount, subsequently released a statement in which Mulgrew said she "cannot imagine not participating in (the show's) entire run, whatever that may be."

RED-FACED Disney has recalled all copies of its recent home-video release of 1977's "The Rescuers" after a couple of snapshots of a naked woman were reportedly discovered. Apparently the shots were somehow inserted into one frame each when the source print was first made, but since a film shows 30 frames per second, no one noticed the flash of skin during normal viewing. However, with the freeze frame capability of VCRs, the shots were quickly discovered.

RECONCILING? Rod Stewart, whose separation from wife Rachel Hunter was announced last week, told a British tabloid that he was "pray(ing) that she will eventually come back." Stewart was careful to say that the split was not because of anything he or she had done, apparently alluding to rumors of his infidelity. "Rachel needs some time and space to find herself and work out what she wants to do with her life," he said, "and I've reluctantly agreed."

REEL DEAL John Frankenheimer, whose credits range from 1962's "The Manchurian Candidate" to last year's "Ronin," will next direct "Reindeer Games," a thriller about an ex-con roped into a casino robbery.

TODAY IN HISTORY In 1963, the Whisky-a-Go-Go opened in Los Angeles, making it the city's first rock club.... In 1992, Paul Simon became the first major star to perform in South Africa after the UN's cultural boycott ended.