ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

ENTERTAINMENT

Spielberg Lauded: Steven Spielberg will receive the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal (named after the Smithsonian Institution’s initial financier) in Washington on Wednesday in recognition of his efforts toward improving Jewish lifestyles and promoting remembrance of the Holocaust. Past honorees include the late Jacques Cousteau, Lady Bird Johnson, George Lucas and Walter Cronkite.

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The ‘Blair Witch’ Suit: The makers of the hit horror movie “The Blair Witch Project” have been sued by a former partner who says he deserves some of the film’s multimillion-dollar profits. Sam Barber, an Orlando filmmaker, said that his company paid for much of the movie’s pre-production costs and that he should have been credited as a producer or executive producer. He also claims that director Dan Myrick and Myrick’s girlfriend broke into his office and took documents, a master copy of the film and other tapes. The suit was filed in June 1998, long before “Blair Witch” became a surprise hit. Meanwhile, Myrick’s attorney denied the theft allegation and called the lawsuit an attempt at harassment, noting that Myrick and his co-defendants--his girlfriend, Kristal Jordan, and producer Greg Hale--have filed a countersuit against Barber, alleging he tried to interfere with the film’s distribution by seeking an injunction in California to stop the movie’s release. The injunction was denied.

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Good Intentions: “Dawson’s Creek” star Joshua Jackson was rescued by the Coast Guard Tuesday after being swept into a current-filled inlet while trying to rescue two female swimmers who’d gotten into trouble near Wrightsville Beach, N.C. Jackson, 21, and a friend dove into the ocean and swam out to help the women, a Coast Guard officer said, but waves then swept all four over a jetty and into the inlet. The Coast Guard rescued the group and none were injured. “Dawson’s Creek” is filmed in nearby Wilmington, N.C.

QUICK TAKES

The July 23-25 Woodstock 99 Webcast set a record for the largest such Internet event to date, drawing 1.4 million viewers. . . . Meanwhile, Woodstock performers Limp Bizkit have reclaimed the top spot on the national album sales chart. Powered by a controversial and bombastic Woodstock performance, the group’s “Significant Other” sold 250,000 copies last week (up from 235,000 a week earlier) to overtake the Backstreet Boys’ “Millennium.” . . . Lauryn Hill was nominated Tuesday for four 1999 Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, with her “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” vying for best solo R&B;/soul album with Brandy’s “Never S.A.Y. Never,” Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine” and Whitney Houston’s “My Love Is Your Love.” The awards air Sept. 3 on KTLA-TV. . . . KKGO-FM (105.1) afternoon announcer John Santana will guest conduct the L.A. Philharmonic in “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Hollywood Bowl tonight.