TV bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman's book debuted on the New York Times best-seller list in the top spot.

The Honolulu resident's "You Can Run But You Can't Hide" is the No. 1-selling hardcover nonfiction book in the country, according to the list published yesterday.

The newspaper's synopsis of the book says Chapman "recalls his past of abuse and addiction and describes his bounty hunts."

Chapman is the star of the "Dog the Bounty Hunter" reality show on the A&E cable channel.

'DISTINGUISHED' ROLE FOR SENATOR

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Holy Beltway, Batman! Sen. Patrick Leahy has a part in the next Batman movie.

"I don't wear tights," the Vermont Democrat said.

Leahy's scene was filmed this summer for "The Dark Knight" and involves Batman, played by Christian Bale, The Joker, played by Heath Ledger, and Alfred Pennyworth, played by Michael Caine.

The longtime Batman fan would reveal little about his role other than he is called the "distinguished gentleman."

"It's a pretty tense scene," said Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It's going to be a very interesting one."

"The Dark Knight" is scheduled to be released next summer.

ROWLING PENNING DETECTIVE NOVEL

LONDON — J.K. Rowling has been spotted at cafes in Scotland working on a detective novel, a British newspaper reported yesterday.

The Sunday Times newspaper quoted Ian Rankin, a fellow author and neighbor of Rowling's, as saying the creator of the "Harry Potter" books is turning to crime fiction.

"My wife spotted her writing her Edinburgh criminal detective novel," the newspaper, which was available late yesterday, quoted Rankin as saying at an Edinburgh literary festival.

"It is great that she has not abandoned writing or Edinburgh cafes," said Rankin, who is known for his own police novels set in the city.

Rowling wrote initial drafts of the Potter story in the Scottish city's cafes. Back then, she was a struggling single mother who wrote in cafes to save on the heating bill at home.

Now she's Britain's richest woman — worth $1 billion, according to Forbes magazine — and her seven Potter books have sold more than 335 million copies worldwide.

FOR 'SUPERBAD,' A SUPER WEEKEND

HOLLYWOOD — The geek comedy "Superbad" racked up $31.2 million in the United States and Canada in its openng weekend.

Starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, the loser-teens-on-the-make comedy is the latest R-rated mixture of raunch and heart from producer Judd Apatow, whose earlier hits include "Knocked Up" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin."

At $3.83 billion in ticket sales, this summer is running 10 percent ahead of last year — and, with two weeks to go, it looks certain to break the record of $3.95 billion from summer 2004.

The action comedy "Rush Hour 3" fell a relatively steep 56 percent in its second weekend but still was the weekend's No. 2 movie.

The thriller "The Bourne Ultimatum" held up well and finished No. 3.