Faces to Watch in ’95 : We’re Counting on Them : MOVIES

Some of them you know. Some you don’t. But the following artists, entertainers and executives have one thing in common: We’re counting on each to mae a significant impact or difference in their respective fields this year. Sure, there will be thers who make a splash, but after we talked with dozens of people who work in entertainment and the arts, these were the names mentioned most often. You might say that Jim Carrey was a face to watch in ‘94, and you would be right. But, based on “Ace Ventura,” “The Mask,” and “Dumb and Dumber,” Carrey’s ’95 should bear watching. Another pair of familiar faces--Jay Leno and David Letterman--appear on our list. Why? Haven’t we looked at these guys enough? Well, truth be told, how do you know what’s going to happen to them this year? Fame can be sooooo fleeting.

Jim Carrey

A year ago, Jim Carrey was a stand-up-cum-TV-actor nibbling at the edge of fame. Then came “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” and a star, of sorts, was born. In the wake of that movie’s success, Carrey’s asking price shot into the stratosphere--$7 million for the just-released “Dumb and Dumber” and $10 million for the sequel to last summer’s hit “The Mask.”

Although skeptics dubbed Carrey, 32, the “$7-million man,” the actor was nonchalant. “I deserve it as much as the next guy,” he said with a shrug last spring, “if I put the butts in the seats.” He has since done just that: “Dumb and Dumber” grossed $40.7 million in its first 11 days in theaters.

Will the butts still be there for Carrey in 1995? Very likely. Advance word on his performance as the Riddler in summer’s “Batman Forever” is extremely strong; crew members reportedly have been so delighted with Carrey’s maniacal performance that they drop whatever they are doing to watch him film. Ssstill sssmokin’.