Faces to Watch in ’96 : The Year’s in Their Hands : Well, maybe not just theirs (notice we don’t list Jim Carrey). But these artists and entertainers--some you know, some you don’t--are most likely to make some kind of splash in ’96. Ready? Everybody into the pool. : MOVIES : DreamWorks SKG

The much-ballyhooed trio has already lined up $2 billion in financing, put more than 560 employees to work, made creative deals all over Hollywood and announced plans to build a new 100-acre studio on the west side of Los Angeles. This year, however, we get our first glimpse at what all this activity has wrought.

That is the challenge for DreamWorks SKG and the partnership of, below from left, David Geffen, 52; Jeffrey Katzenberg, 45, and Steven Spielberg, 48.

On Tuesday, ABC will unveil DreamWorks’ debut TV series, “Champs,” starring Timothy Busfield. On Feb. 6, record stores will release the first single from an upcoming, still untitled George Michael CD.

And, in May, principal photography will begin on “The Peacemaker,” a feature film about nuclear terrorism starring George Clooney of “ER” fame.

Still to be announced are interactive projects by DreamWorks and Bill Gates’ Microsoft Corp. And work is also underway on an animated film called “Prince of Egypt.”