NAMES & FACES

Monday, August 20, 2007

Rowling, Still Busy Scribbling

Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling has been spotted at cafes in Scotland working on her next book, which won't be about the trials and tribulations of a boy wizard. Writer and Rowling neighbor Ian Rankin says she's trying her hand at something else -- crime fiction, according to London's Sunday Times.

"My wife spotted her writing her Edinburgh criminal detective novel," Rankin said at an Edinburgh literary festival.

"It is great that she has not abandoned writing or Edinburgh cafes," said Rankin, who has authored several police novels set in the Scottish city.

Rowling famously wrote initial drafts of the Potter story in Edinburgh's cafes, in part to save on the heating bill at home. In an interview with the Associated Press last month, Rowling said she believed she was unlikely to repeat the success of the Potter series, but confirmed her plans to work on new novels.

"I'll do exactly what I did with Harry -- I'll write what I really want to write," said Rowling.

Her seven Harry Potter books have sold more than 335 million copies worldwide, making her Britain's richest woman -- worth $1 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

Richie Hitching?

Did Joel Madden propose to Nicole Richie last week? One local radio DJ thinks so.

After the band Good Charlotte played the Clarendon Ballroom Friday night, Madden was walking offstage when Hot 99.5's DJ Kane announced to the crowd: "He got engaged yesterday. Congratulations, Joel!"

Madden quickly glanced over his shoulder but was unresponsive, making a hurried exit from the stage behind brother Benji, according to People.com.

"We heard this morning," Kane told People following the band's set. Citing "good sources," Kane said he had offered his congratulations to Madden earlier in the night. "He said, 'Thank you so much,' " the DJ recalled.

Madden, 28, and the four-months-pregnant Richie, 25, are "very excited about the baby and the wedding. They want to keep their personal life personal," he added.

Yesterday, Hot 99.5 issued a news release claiming that "DJ Kane spilled the beans" about Richie agreeing Thursday to wed Madden.

Although Richie wasn't spotted at the show, she was seen with Madden in Georgetown earlier that day.

Method Man, Still Paying Toll

Students at 15 New York high schools will soon be warned about the dangers of drugs by Wu-Tang Clan rapper Method Man, as part of a plea deal reached following a marijuana arrest earlier this year.

According to defense attorney Peter Frankel, Method Man -- real name Clifford Smith-- "is thrilled to do it." Frankel added that his client has "never been in trouble before. He's not a stereotypical rapper."

Smith, 36, was arrested in May after tollbooth workers on the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel reported smelling marijuana smoke coming from his car. He was charged with drug possession and driving under the influence of drugs after police said they found marijuana inside the vehicle. The drug charges were knocked down to disorderly conduct as part of the plea agreement.

The Gavel Meets the Cape

The next Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," will have another cameo by -- Holy Judiciary Committee! -- Sen. Patrick Leahy.

The Vermont Democrat, a longtime Batman fan, would reveal little about his role except that he plays a "distinguished gentleman" in a scene filmed this summer with Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Michael Caine.

"I don't wear tights," Leahy added.

The senator, who also had small parts in the last two Batman features, will donate his earnings from the film to the Kellogg-Hubbard children's library in Montpelier, where he got his first library card, the Associated Press reports.

"The Dark Knight" is scheduled for release next summer.

-- Compiled by Michael Cotterman from Web and wire reports