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  • ‘Monsters Inc. 3’ in the Works at Pixar; New Originals Include ‘Ono Ghost Market’ and the Studio’s First Musical

    ‘Monsters Inc. 3’ in the Works at Pixar; New Originals Include ‘Ono Ghost Market’ and the Studio’s First Musical

    Boo! Pixar is developing a third movie in the popular “Monsters Inc.” franchise.

    The project was revealed in a lengthy Wall Street Journal profile that examined the inner workings at Pixar, as the animation studio debuts its latest release, “Hoppers.”

    The franchise’s first movie, 2001’s “Monsters, Inc.,” operates on the premise that monsters must scare children to power the city. The movie, directed by now-Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter and featuring the voices of John Goodman and Billy Crystal, was a massive hit at the box office, grossing $528.7 million worldwide. The 2013 prequel, “Monsters University,” helmed by Dan Scanlon, outperformed the original with a $743.5 million global tally. The success spawned the sequel series “Monsters at Work,” which ran for two seasons.

    It’s not immediately clear who will direct the next big screen installment, and plot details — including where in the story’s timeline the action will occur — are being kept under wraps.

    In addition to the “Monsters” franchise, Pixar has a few more major sequels in the works, including June’s “Toy Story 5,” which sees Buzz Lightyear and a (balding!) Woody face off against a smart tablet; “The Incredibles 3,” dated for 2028 and helmed by “Elemental” director Peter Sohn; and a second “Coco” movie, expected to debut in 2029.

    But the studio is also taking some big swings on original stories, like next year’s “Gatto,” about a feline thief in Venice. Pixar reportedly pivoted “Ono Ghost Market,” a project inspired by “Asian myths about supernatural bazaars where the living and dead interact,” from a streaming series to a movie. The studio is also developing its first-ever musical, from “Turning Red” director Domee Shi.

    As for “Hoppers,” the animal-centric adventure earned $3.2 million in previews, and is projected to earn $35 million to $40 million from 4,000 theaters this weekend.

  • WGA Members Approve Bargaining Agenda Focused on Health Care, Pay, AI

    WGA Members Approve Bargaining Agenda Focused on Health Care, Pay, AI

    The members of the Writers Guild of America have voted to approve an agenda for bargaining with the studios, which is set to begin on March 16.

    With 97.4% voting in favor, the union approved a “pattern of demands” that focuses on health care, compensation, and artificial intelligence, among other issues.

    The WGA has already told members that the health fund is facing a dire financial situation, due to the industry contraction and skyrocketing health costs. According to the union, the health fund has suffered eight-figure losses for the past four years, totaling $205 million, and the fund will run out of money in the next three years if nothing changes.

    The pattern of demands calls for employers to contribute more to the pension and health funds, and for them to agree to increase the compensation caps upon which contributions are assessed. In the memo to members last week, the WGA also warned of the need for “plan design changes that will save money while preserving access to high-quality providers.”

    The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains on behalf of the studios, published a report in December arguing that Hollywood workers enjoy very generous benefits compared to the typical employer-based plan.

    As always in bargaining, the WGA will be seeking to increase minimum compensation rates. It will also seek to make gains on two major issues from the 2023 strike: artificial intelligence and streaming residuals.

    The pattern of demands does not cite another major strike issue: minimum staffing on TV shows. In the 2023 deal, the WGA won a provision to effectively do away with “mini-rooms” — in which a small group of writers would work on multiple scripts at a reduced rate while a project was still in development. The WGA also won staffing minimums for shows once they are greenlit, ranging from three to six writers depending on the length of the season.

    Though the pattern of demands does not address minimum staffing, it does touch a related issue — compensation of writers who participate in post-production. It also highlights “free work,” a perennial concern among feature writers that has spilled over into the TV business in recent years.

    The pattern of demands is a bare outline of topic areas. Detailed proposals will be presented to the AMPTP once bargaining begins, but will be kept under wraps while negotiations are underway.

  • Why Everclear Frontman Art Alexakis Says His Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis Was a ‘Blessing’

    Why Everclear Frontman Art Alexakis Says His Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis Was a ‘Blessing’

    Art AlexakisShare on Pinterest
    Everclear frontman Art Alexakis opens up about living with living with multiple sclerosis for more than a decade and the early signs he missed. Courtesy of Art Alexakis
    • Everclear frontman Art Alexakis is sharing his decade-long journey with Multiple Sclerosis.
    • He was diagnosed with relapsing MS in 2016.
    • He discusses his most recent treatment and other ways he cares for himself.

    Art Alexakis, singer and frontman of the Grammy-nominated rock band Everclear, wrapped up a 43-show tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of the band’s album, Sparkle and Fade.

    The anniversary was extra special for the 63-year-old rock star as he has been living with relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for 10 years.

    “I’m grateful for aging. I’m grateful for the MS. It makes me try harder. I get to play so many shows a year, and having to go through airports is hard, but doing that, keeping moving and keeping working at it is one of the things that has really helped me with my gratitude and with my mental outlook,” he told Healthline.

    “If you try to do something and you accomplish it, it feels good. And even though it gets harder, I can still do it right now. I’m feeling pretty good.”

    Alexakis was diagnosed with MS following a car accident in 2016. A few weeks after the accident, he began experiencing a tweak in his neck. His doctor suggested he get an MRI.

    “So, I go get the MRI, I show up in his examination room, and there were six guys in there. They went on to tell me that two of them were neurologists, and that the pathologist who read the MRI had seen lesions on my spine and my brain, and they were pretty certain that they were MS,” he said.

    Once Alexakis received the diagnosis at 54 years old, he realized he had been experiencing symptoms since his 20s, including balance and walking issues, fatigue, and skin sensations.

    “They thought that I had it for over 25 years just by the look of the lesions. In my 20s, I would have pretty severe vertigo. Rage is a thing. As I got older, these things became more pronounced, especially the balance and just skin feeling weird, and sometimes my arm not working well out of nowhere,” he said. “It was a blessing to me to get that diagnosis because a lot of people go through life and never get diagnosed correctly.”

    Alexakis’ neurologist Regina Berkovich, MD, PhD, said a misconception about MS is that it can only occur between the ages of 18 and 40.

    “However, we can see it in childhood and as late as senior age,” she told Healthline. “The lesson is that MS doesn’t follow any rules and that’s why it’s so fascinating to deal with the condition on a professional level, and at times, it can get challenging on the level of individual patients.”

    Berkovich has helped Alexakis find a treatment that works for him: Tysabri, a monoclonal antibody administered as an intravenous infusion.

    “An important learning experience I take for myself from Art’s story is that not every medication works the same for different people or even for the same person during different periods of life,” said Berkovich. “Tysabri was not his first medication, but it was definitely the one that really made the difference.”

    Within the last few decades, she said, treatment has evolved from focusing on symptoms or relapse treatment to a disease-modifying therapy era.

    “Since the 1990s, we started having disease-modifying therapies, and those therapies, if applied properly and for the right person, may show true modification of the long-term outlook, meaning improvement as compared to someone not being treated,” Berkovich said.

    She hopes Alexakis’ story inspires others to seek out treatment that works for them.

    “A lot of patients don’t feel empowered to ask questions and advocate for themselves to try different therapies, so it’s important that Art is showing the example of having these open discussions and setting up his personal goals around treatments,” said Berkovich.

    “As an MS specialist, you constantly learn so much from every person you get to treat, and I’ve learned tremendously from Art. His resilience, positive thinking, and trust are truly inspiring, and I feel empowered by him.”

    Healthline spoke with Alexakis to learn more about his MS journey, the early symptoms he missed, and what’s next for Everclear.

    This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

    Alexakis: I can’t run like I used to, so I swim. I do physical therapy three times a week. I try to stay away from inflammatory foods, for the most part. And I do my treatment, my medication, and it works for me. I have to work harder, and I’m okay with that.

    I follow the world champion Seahawks and the world champion L.A. Dodgers, and both my teams in different cities won it all this year, so that helps me.

    Other than cooking and doing things with my family around the house, I don’t really have a lot of hobbies. I don’t go to clubs anymore because that’s where I work.

    I [listen to] a lot of podcasts, specifically Seahawks podcasts or Dodger podcasts, and I enjoy it. You get older, you find things you like, you find things you don’t like. Stick to the things you like, especially when they’re not bad for you.

    Alexakis: I don’t want to say I like to use my attention to do this and this. I just want to be of service to people. It’s part of the program. I have learned through my relationship with my higher power to be a force of good in this world.

    I’m 36, almost 37, years sober. I feel pretty confident about it because of where my head’s at and [I have] gratitude, and being of service to people is huge for me and a huge part of my program that I work every day.

    I am not religious at all, but I’m very spiritual, and thanks to my program and my fellowship of guys that I work with that are sober guys like me. I’m blessed.

    My family is like, you’re the best person when you’re working your program. I went through some periods of being sober but not working my program, and in the program, we call Dry Drunk, I went through fame. There were times when I wasn’t doing [the program].

  • Netflix’s version of Overcooked lets you play as Huntr/x

    Netflix’s library of streamable party games is expanding today with a custom version of Overcooked! All You Can Eat. Netflix launched its cloud gaming program with games like Lego Party and Tetris Time Warp, but Overcooked feels a bit unique because it features a roster of Netflix-affiliated characters from KPop Demon Hunters and Stranger Things.

    For the uninitiated, Overcooked plays like a more manic version of Diner Dash, where teams attempt to prepare food together in increasingly elaborate kitchens filled with obstacles. The original version of Overcooked! All You Can Eat was released in 2020, and includes DLC and stages from previous versions of the game. Netflix’s version bundles in the same content, and “10 Netflix celebrity chefs” including “Dustin, Eleven, Lucas, and the Demogorgon from Stranger Things,” and “half-dozen faces from KPop Demon Hunters,” like “Mira, Rumi, Zoey, Jinu, Derpy and Sussie.” Like Netflix’s other streaming games, playing Overcooked also requires you to use a connected smartphone as a controller.

    Offering a growing library of streaming games is part of Netflix’s new strategy under Alan Tascan, a former executive from Epic Games. Tascan took over as Netflix’s President of Games in 2024, and appeared to start revamping the company’s plans not long after, cancelling the release of several mobile games and reportedly shutting down its AAA game studio. Netflix is also continuing to adapt video games into content for its platform. For example, A24 is reportedly developing a game show based on Overcooked for the streaming service.

  • Valve doesn’t sound confident the Steam Machine will ship in 2026

    As part of a Year in Review blog detailing changes Valve made to Steam in 2025, the company shared a minor update on its hardware plans that doesn’t sound good for anyone hoping to buy a Steam Machine, Steam Controller or Steam Frame in 2026. Specifically, the company is now opening up the possibility its new hardware won’t ship this year at all.

    In February, when Valve acknowledged the ongoing memory and storage shortage had delayed the launch of its hardware and could lead to higher prices, the company was still committing to a (fairly wide) window of when its hardware would ship:

    “Our goal of shipping all three products in the first half of the year has not changed. But we have work to do to land on concrete pricing and launch dates that we can confidently announce, being mindful of how quickly the circumstances around both of those things can change.”

    As of the company’s latest post, however, things somehow sound even less certain. “We hope to ship in 2026, but as we shared recently, memory and storage shortages have created challenges for us,” Valve wrote in its Year in Review post. “We’ll share updates publicly when we finalize our plans!”

    While Valve’s air of secrecy can make it easy to read too much into the limited information the company does share, moving from “the first half of the year” to “[hoping] to ship in 2026” certainly gives it wiggle room to not release new hardware this year. And considering the difficulties other companies are facing sourcing memory and storage, it wouldn’t be all that surprising.

    HP said in February that RAM accounts for a third of its PC costs, and industry analysts expect the RAM shortage could radically alter the PC landscape as companies are forced to raise prices. Valve’s already struggling to keep the Steam Deck in stock due to its issues securing RAM, it stands to reason sourcing components for even more devices wouldn’t make that process any easier. Then again, the company hasn’t updated its launch timing FAQ, so there’s still reason to hope the Steam Machine ships in 2026.

  • When buying Bitcoin, don’t expect profit for at least 3 years: Data

  • Trump’s National Cyber Strategy pledges to support crypto and blockchain

    Crypto industry executives are combing through US President Donald Trump’s National Cyber Strategy after it was released on Friday, searching for hints about what it could signal for government support of the crypto industry.

    “Crypto and blockchain are explicitly named as technologies to be ‘protected and secured.’ This is a first for any US cybersecurity strategy,” Galaxy Digital’s head of firmwide research Alex Thorn said in an X post on Friday.

    Crypto and blockchain were mentioned once in the six-page report:

    “We will build secure technologies and supply chains that protect user privacy from design to deployment, including supporting the security of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.”

    However, industry executives have also been interpreting other parts of the document to see how they relate to crypto.

    Cryptocurrencies, United States, AI, Donald Trump, Quantum Computing

    Source: Mark Chadwick

    Thorn pointed to a section pledging to “uproot criminal infrastructure and deny financial exit and safe haven.” “This language could easily justify crackdowns on mixers, privacy coins, and unregulated off-ramps,” he said.

    Bitcoin VC points out that quantum has been taken “seriously”

    Castle Island Ventures founder Nic Carter, who has been vocal about the threat of quantum computing to Bitcoin (BTC) in recent times, pointed to the section saying the government “will accelerate the modernization, defensibility, and resilience of federal information systems by implementing cybersecurity best practices, post-quantum cryptography, zero-trust architecture, and cloud transition.”

    “Sure seems like they’re taking quantum seriously. Nothing to worry about, I’m sure,” Carter said in an X post.

    It comes as the crypto industry continues to debate about how close quantum computing is to being a serious threat to Bitcoin. On Feb. 15, Carter said that major Bitcoin-holding institutions may eventually lose patience with Bitcoin developers for not addressing quantum computing concerns quickly enough.

    Trump points to the next generation as a priority

    Trump said that the National Cyber Security outlines his priorities for “ensuring that America remains unrivaled in cyberspace.” Artificial intelligence was a key focus of the report.

    “We will secure the AI technology stack—including our data centers—and promote innovation in AI security,” it said.

    Trump also emphasized the importance of recruiting the next generation of workers in the cyber workforce to “design and deploy exquisite cyber technologies and solutions.”

    The US typically releases a national cybersecurity strategy every administration, outlining the government’s priorities for emerging technologies.

  • California park’s use of human compost draws outcry

    The use of compost from human bodies on public parkland has a Central California conservation group facing criticism.

    The soil has been used at Sumner Peck Ranch, a 76-acre site north of Fresno overseen by the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust. Its calendar lists events including school field trips and u-pick citrus and blueberry seasons.

    The human compost has put the trust at odds with the San Joaquin River Conservancy, a group with which it has partnered in the past.

    The conservancy’s chairperson, Kasey Austin-Tibbets, and Fresno County Supervisor Garry Bredefeld, who’s on the group’s board, were among officials who held a news conference Thursday, March 5, in Fresno to decry the use of the compost, the Fresno Bee reported.

    Bredefeld called the action illegal, without specifying what regulation he believes it violates, and implied it is environmentally harmful.

    Sharon Weaver, executive director of the trust that oversees Sumner Peck, told the Bee her group believes the practice and the partnership with Earth Funerals is environmentally beneficial. “It’s very disappointing that they are trying to suggest that we’re doing something harmful to the river,” she said.

    Weaver said the compost has been used since last year in a field that is away from the river and from agricultural areas.

    The soil material is obtained from Earth Funerals, a company that, as an alternative to burial or cremation, converts human remains into what it calls “a nutrient-rich soil that is ready to be returned to nature.”

    Families of clients whose bodies are composted can claim some or all of the resulting soil; what is left is used in the company’s two conservation projects, at the San Joaquin River site and on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

    At Thursday’s press conference, Bredefeld implied the practice runs afoul of Assembly Bill 351, under which “natural organic reduction” will become legal and regulated in California in 2027. Earth Funeral’s website states that clients in states where natural organic reduction is not yet a sanctioned option can still legally use the company’s facilities, in Washington and Nevada.

    Sumner Peck Ranch was acquired by the River Parkway Trust in 2020. The winemaker Solitary Cellars leases the buildings on the land, which are used for wine-tasting, live music and wedding facilities.

  • Vancouver Moves to Close Bitcoin Reserve Proposal After Legal Review

    Vancouver Moves to Close Bitcoin Reserve Proposal After Legal Review

    In brief

    • City staff have concluded the Vancouver Charter does not allow Bitcoin in city reserves.
    • The motion followed a late 2024 decree by Mayor Ken Sim to study crypto use.
    • Municipal finance rules keep assets like Bitcoin outside treasuries, Decrypt was told.

    Vancouver staff have recommended closing a council motion that explored whether the city could become “Bitcoin-friendly,” after determining that its rules don’t allow the crypto to be held as a municipal reserve asset.

    The recommendation appears in a report to the council reviewing outstanding member motions, where staff said they had “conclusively determined” that Bitcoin is not “an allowable investment asset,” recommending the motion be closed as part of a broader reprioritization of staff resources and efforts.

    Staff cited the Vancouver Charter, the provincial law that governs how the city operates, including how municipal funds can be invested, which does not permit the city to hold Bitcoin as a reserve asset, limiting Vancouver’s ability to pursue the proposal.

    The motion’s sole opponent on council, Pete Fry, told local media he assumed the proposal had already been shelved and was surprised to see it referenced in the report.

    “I already thought it was dead in the water,” he said. “It was probably good closure to have it mentioned in here, but I don’t even know that it was entirely necessary.”

    The recommendation comes more than a year after Vancouver council initially backed a motion from Mayor Ken Sim directing staff to study whether the city could become a “Bitcoin-friendly city.”

    At the time, the proposal asked officials to examine accepting taxes and fees in crypto, and the possibility of converting part of the city’s financial reserves into Bitcoin.

    But the proposal had faced legal limits right off the start.

    The British Columbia Ministry of Municipal Affairs said at the time that municipalities cannot hold financial reserves in crypto under provincial rules, adding in a statement that the intent of the legislation “is that local government funds are not exposed to undue risk.”

    “The legal and treasury-related barriers were reportedly already understood from the outset, so the decision to end the process does not come as a real surprise” Kevin Lee, chief business officer at crypto exchange Gate, told Decrypt.

    In Vancouver’s case, the initial prospects “appeared to reflect Mayor Ken Sim’s personal pro-Bitcoin vision as much as a practical municipal finance initiative,” Lee added.

    Back then, Mayor Ken Sim defended the proposal, saying Bitcoin had been the top-performing asset “over the past 16 years,” arguing it should at least be considered as part of a diversified portfolio.

    Decrypt has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.

    Constraints and upsides

    The outcome also reflects limitations in how municipalities operate financially.

    “Demand for Bitcoin isn’t the constraint, public balance sheet mandates are,” Dominick John, analyst at quantitative research firm Zeus Research, told Decrypt.

    Municipal treasuries are “structured for capital preservation, which keeps assets like Bitcoin outside the reserve toolkit,” he said. “Until legislation, accounting treatment, and custody frameworks evolve, cities like Vancouver will remain stuck at the study.”

    When asked whether this could set a precedent for other cities, John said it’s likely the same idea would be explored elsewhere, though most proposals “will die at feasibility.”

    This could happen “only if local leaders believe there is political, branding, or ideological value in being seen as pro-crypto or pro-innovation,” Gate’s Lee said.

    That value, as in Vancouver’s case, is not guaranteed, he said. “Once the political upside is weak, most of these initiatives are likely to stall at the feasibility stage.”

    Still, crypto remains used far more as an investment than for payments, Gate’s Lee explained.

    “Government payment options usually follow private sector behavior rather than lead it,” he noted. “If crypto becomes widely used for everyday payments across retail, e-commerce, and services, then accepting it for taxes or municipal fees will be the natural extension.”

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  • BlackRock private credit fund is latest to crack, hitting crypto prices and DeFi markets

    BlackRock private credit fund is latest to crack, hitting crypto prices and DeFi markets

    Cracks in the global private credit market are rattling investors, raising concerns the stress could spill into crypto markets.

    Bloomberg reported Friday that BlackRock’s $26 billion private credit fund has begun limiting withdrawals amid rising redemption requests. The move follows similar stress at Blue Owl, which sold $1.4 billion in loans last month to meet withdrawals and reportedly has exposure to a collapsed U.K. property lender.

    Shares of major asset managers including BlackRock (BLK), Apollo Global Management (APO), Ares Management (ARES) and KKR slid 4%-6% Friday, extending their 2026 rout.

    Read more: Blue Owl liquidity crisis has investors bracing for 2008-style fallout

    If redemption pressure forces private credit funds to unwind positions, it could trigger broader deleveraging across asset classes that could ripple through digital assets including bitcoin BTC$67,962.60, Andreja Cobeljic, head of derivatives trading at Swiss crypto bank AMINA Bank warned in an emailed note.

    Credit stress meets energy shock

    U.S. banks extended nearly $300 billion in loans to private credit providers as of mid-2025 and another $285 billion to private equity funds, Cobeljic wrote, carrying risks that credit woes could extend to the banking sector

    “In isolation this would be manageable,” he said. “But emerging in the middle of a broader global deleveraging event, alongside an energy shock and collapsing rate-cut expectations, it is a different conversation.”

    “For risk assets, including crypto, a disorderly unwind here would represent a significant second-order shock that current pricing does not reflect,” he said.

    Contagion to tokenized asset markets

    A second channel of credit risk could surface directly on blockchain rails.

    Tokenized private credit products — loans and funds packaged and issued on public blockchains as tokens — have grown quickly as part of the broader real-world asset (RWA) trend. According to data from rwa.xyz, the on-chain private credit market now stands at just under $5 billion. That remains tiny compared with the roughly $3.5 trillion global private credit market in 2025, estimated by the Alternative Credit Council.

    But the growing presence of these assets inside decentralized finance (DeFi) means stress in the underlying loans could ripple directly to crypto markets.

    “Institutions are entering crypto, but often with products that even degens and DeFi natives don’t fully grasp,” said Teddy Pornprinya, co-founder of real-world asset protocol Plume.

    Real-world credit products can carry complex risks that are not always obvious to crypto investors, he said, including volatile net asset value swings and headline yields that don’t fully reflect fees or credit risk.

    A recent episode shows how off-chain credit stress can spill into DeFi.

    According to a report by risk advisory firm Chaos Labs, the 2025 bankruptcy of auto-parts supplier First Brands Group affected a private credit strategy run by Fasanara Capital. A tokenized version of the strategy, mF-ONE, had been issued on the Midas RWA platform and used as collateral for borrowing on the Morpho protocol.

    When the underlying fund marked down exposure tied to the bankruptcy, the token’s net asset value slipped about 2%, pushing highly leveraged borrowers close to liquidation and tightening liquidity on the platform. Lenders ultimately avoided losses, but the episode highlighted how tokenized private credit used as DeFi collateral can transmit traditional credit stress into on-chain markets.