GOOD AND BAD Adam Sandler received mixed news this week: ShoWest (the annual convention of movie-theater owners) has honored him as Comedy Star of the Year. But not everyone is singing his praises: In this Sunday's New York Times Magazine, fellow "Saturday Night Live" grad Bill Murray says, "I would enjoy driving in L.A. with the windows down more than I would enjoy watching 'The Waterboy.'"

CASTING Robert De Niro is discussing teaming with Edward Burns in "15 Minutes," where they'll play a homicide detective and fire-department investigator who team to solve a murder. John Herzfeld ("Don King: Only in America") wrote the script and will direct.... Embeth Davidtz ("Schindler's List") will take on a dual role in Robin Williams' upcoming sci-fi drama, "Bicentennial Man." Williams is a 200-year-old android servant, and Davidtz plays characters on two ends of his so-called life: first as a woman Williams' cared for when he was young, and later as her own granddaughter.

GOING STRONG While Sarah McLachlan announced that this would be Lilith Fair's last year, and Lollapalooza continues to struggle after taking last year off, Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest has signed with a major promoter to keep the metal marathon going for the next five years.

MOONLIGHTING Jay Leno, whose soft spot for all things motorized is renowned, has agreed to write a bimonthly column for Popular Mechanics called "Jay Leno's Garage," all about car and motorcycle collecting. The "Tonight Show" host is donating his paycheck to set up a scholarship at McPherson College in Kansas for its auto-restoration program.

REEL DEAL Brian De Palma ("Snake Eyes") may take to outer space for his next film. He is negotiating to direct "Mission to Mars," about a team of astronauts sent to the red planet to rescue those stranded there after a previous failed mission.... Someone call the kennel: Disney is planning a sequel to its 1996 hit, the live-action-version of "101 Dalmatians." Although John Hughes will not be doing the script this time, he is producing and has commissioned a screenplay. No word yet on whether the original cast, including Glenn Close and Jeff Daniels, will return.

IN THE COURTS Dustin Hoffman, who won $1.5 million in compensatory damages last week in his court case against Los Angeles magazine for its unauthorized use of his likeness, was awarded another $1.5 million in punitive damages yesterday by an L.A. judge. Hoffman had sued after the magazine grafted his head in full "Tootsie" makeup onto another body for a 1997 fashion spread.

TODAY IN HISTORY Comic crank W.C. Fields was born in 1880.... With good ol' boy gallantry, Garth Brooks refused his American Music Award for Favorite Overall Artist in 1996, saying that Hootie and the Blowfish were more important to music that year than he.