FOR DREYFUSS, IT'S NOT JUST THE HEAT ... IT'S THE INSECTS.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

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Richard Dreyfuss, who wed accountant Janelle Lacey in May, wants us to know, ''This is a very good marriage, this is working.``

They're really putting that marriage to the test - spending three months in Cayenne, French Guiana, where, he tells us, they're coping with humidity, temperatures of 110 degrees or so, and ''jungle-y conditions.``

Dreyfuss (who split from first wife Jeramie the mother of his three children in '92), tells us he and Janelle ''are having a good time when we're not running around the house killing things that are trying to kill us.``

When it's mentioned that he's acting very mellow about the situation, he responds, ''I am mellow. I'm very happy.`` Then, he adds with a laugh, ''It kind of puts things in perspective when you have insects coming at you as big as your wallet.``

He notes that it also makes things easier to know ''this is a good movie I'm doing. It's adapted from a South American novel about a man who lives up river, and has to go even further into the jungle to kill a jaguar that's killing people. There's a very mystical quality to it.``

Mystical wasn't quite the word for it when he did a scene with the animal recently. ''He's supposedly tamed but you believe that. He was standing about 10 feet away from me, without a chain. I was supposed to act scared, and all of a sudden it hit me, 'Why are you acting you really are scared.' And I was.``

Holidays down home

Dixie Carter and husband Hal Holbrook will be ''zipping right off`` to her Tennessee hometown of McLemoresville for the holidays as soon as her two series CBS' ''Family Law`` and ''Ladies Man`` go on their respective breaks this month. They expect the family homestead to be in ''a happy uproar`` with lots of family and friends, from young children to Dixie's 94-year-old uncle.

She can use a break. The other day, for instance, ''I was in the makeup chair for 'Family Law' at 5:45 in the morning. I finished my shot around 10, went over to the set of 'Ladies Man,' rehearsed for the day, went back to 'Family Law,' and did exterior scenes till around 9 in the evening. But that kind of a crunch doesn't happen very often. I get tired, but not end-of-the-world tired.``

Dixie had already committed to ''Family Law`` when she was asked to do a guest appearance on the pilot of ''Ladies Man.`` When ''both offers came in at once, I thought, 'Why not? The chances of both shows getting onto the fall schedule are slim and none.``' And so much for fearless predictions.

A Hill to climb

Dru Hill lead singer, Sisqo, who's just released his debut solo CD, ''Unleash the Dragon,`` wants Dru Hill fans to know that this is not the beginning of the end for the popular r&b group. The plan, says Sisqo, is for each member ''to do a solo CD, then all come back together in 2000.``

The way they've figured it out, ''we knew if we put out another Dru Hill album, the same people would buy it who bought the first two - and then our careers would probably be over. This way, we all go get our own fans, and come back together with our brand-new sound and all new moves. It's going to be amazing.`` Sisqo says he rushed his new disc out ''we recorded it in two weeks`` to take advantage of his exposure duetting with Will Smith on the ''Wild, Wild West`` soundtrack.

The ''Unleash the Dragon`` CD, which features such producers as Babyface and Montell Jordan, includes a Dru Hill tune and something definitely out of the ordinary the single ''Enchantment Passing Through,`` from the Tim Rice-Elton John musical, ''Aida.`` ''It's a totally different style than anything we've ever done,`` says the r&b singer. ''Elton wrote the song and sent it to me. We produced and arranged it, and he loved it. He said it was beautiful.``

Hold it right there

Michael T. Weiss directed his ''The Pretender`` series for the first time recently, and reports the most challenging aspect of the experience was ''finding the time to go to the bathroom. You realize just how much control you have over your body when nine hours have gone by and you haven't gone to the bathroom once.`` He notes he loved helming the story, in which he goes undercover as a white supremacist to stop a hate group from destroying a Southern church. The episode, which airs in March, ''was shot in a gospel church with a hundred extras, a 12-piece gospel group, and Billy Preston playing the piano. Can you imagine?``

With reports by Stephanie DuBois.

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4 Photos

Photo: (1) DREYFUSS

(2) CARTER

(3) HOLBROOK

(4) WEISS