Just saw The Dark Knight Rises. With the way it ends, I don't see where else Batman can go, moviewise. Am I wrong?
—T.B., via the inbox
You mean beyond the inevitable reboot (a la The Amazing Spider-Man), the unlikely Catwoman spinoff or some kind of continuation focusing on (SPOILER ALERT!) Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character?
For more possible answers to your question, I tapped Siike Donnelly, resident Batman expert at the iconic Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles.
And he says that, actually, there are quite a few places the franchise could go. After all, there are those pesky rumors about a Justice League movie coming, and, as Donnelly put it to me, "I don't see how you could make a JLA movie without Batman."
In fact, why not give Bruce Wayne the sort of shadowy, powerful, behind-the-scenes power-player role that Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury had with The Avengers? Food for thought.
You had more questions! I have more answers! Here we go...
About those photos of K. Stew cheating on Robert Pattinson: Please tell me those paparazzi shots are faked.
—Steamy V., via the inbox
I know that a lot of you out there have spent the week cooking up all kinds of theories about Kristen Stewart and Rupert Sanders' hookup in the hills. (I read your Tumblrs and whatnot, even if nobody else does.)
So I reached out to the best people I could think of to handle this question: forensic photo analysts, the folks who testify in court cases involving suspicious images. But here's the thing: Because of the grainy nature of the photos, none was able to confirm or deny that the dozens of images had been manipulated. (Does this give you more conspiracy fuel? Or less?)
But given Kristen Stewart's very recent, and very public, apology, does it really matter?
That's not the only question I've fielded from you all this week. Here are some others:
When was the golden age of movies? Can we ever have movies like that again?
—Hudie H., via Twitter
The official Golden Age of Hollywood came between the dawn of the talkie and the early 1960s. And do we need a second golden age of film as long as Breaking Bad is on TV?
Curious: Viewers keep saying Dancing With the Stars and American Idol are "over." As far as I know both still get big ratings. Which show has seen the biggest drop in ratings over the past couple seasons?
—Jacquie S., via Facebook
Neither of those shows is over by a long shot, given the red-hot casting news we just got from DWTS, and the shakeup we've been following at American Idol. (J.Lo is dead, long live Mariah Carey.)
As for your ratings question, the last DWTS finale scored more than 16 million viewers but was down compared with its previous season, when it had 21 million pairs of eyeballs. American Idol, meanwhile, garnered more than 21 million viewers for its finale this past spring, versus nearly 30 million last year.
Now that Cat Deeley has said it, is the phrase "cray cray" finally over?
—Billy Z, via Facebook
According to the authority that is me, yes.
Who is James Beard, namesake of the James Beard Award?
—Hawkeye Jen, via Twitter
The late chef and food writer is credited, along with Julia Child, with bringing French gourmet aesthetics to American home-cooked meals.
Will Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart break up? Or they will still act like a couple before Breaking Dawn: Part 2 release? Or Robert will forgive her?
—Tan Cheng Eng, via Facebook
Don't be shocked if they give it another go, which is what relationship experts have predicted to me. But also don't be flabbergasted if it ends soon after. If this girl is really ready to settle down long term, it's news to me.