17 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Alex Cranz

Alex Cranz

Former Tech Editor

Former Tech Editor

    More From Alex Cranz

    Alex Cranz
    Alex Cranz
    Well that’s a shocker.

    TSG, a major movie financier, is suing Disney for alleged breach of contract. TSG has helped finance a lot of movies in Hollywood over the years, including films at Sony and Warner Bros., and Fox, and claims that the folks at Disney “have tried to use nearly every trick in the Hollywood accounting book” to hold onto cash that TSG feels its owed.

    As the Wall Street Journal notes, its super unusual for a spat between a studio and film financiers to become public. Unfortunately that was before studios like Disney were so well integrated vertically that they that they could own everything from ideation to production to distribution and keep it all on their own platform—effectively keeping all the money in their own pockets too. We’re in a new era of streaming, and the rules of Hollywood are being rewritten before our very eyes.

    For a generation of students, the iMac was a gateway to the future

    In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the iMac ruled the college dorm. Twenty-five years after its debut, we reflect on that experience.

    Alex Cranz
    Alex Cranz
    Alex Cranz
    It looks like studios might be taking the Hollywood strikes seriously.

    Since last week the AMPTP has been working on a counter offer that the Writers Guild of America might actually agree with. It’s unclear if the studios succeeded, but according to Bloomberg the latest offer includes giving writers more insight into streaming metrics and a guarantee that AI can’t be credited in penning screenplays.

    The WGA has been in strike since May 2.

    Alex Cranz
    Alex Cranz
    We now know the 12 studio execs meeting weekly to tackle the Hollywood strikes.

    Yesterday Bloomberg reported on what might be some of the most fascinating news around the contract negotiations in Hollywood right now: the names of the 12 studio execs meeting weekly to work out the AMPTP’s bargaining positions.

    According to Bloomberg these 12 execs are: David Zaslav (Warner Bros. Discovery), Ted Sarandos (Netflix), Jen Salke and Mike Hopkins (Amazon), Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht (Apple), Donna Langley (NBCUniversal), Tony Vinciquerra (Sony Pictures), Brian Robbins and George Cheeks (Paramount), Dana Walden and Alan Bergman (Disney).

    You might have noticed Bob Iger is missing from that list, but Bloomberg says he’s apparently started attending recently.

    Alex Cranz
    Alex Cranz
    You might have heard people talking about Spider-Man: Lotus, a two hour fan film that premiered on YouTube Friday,

    and wondered how an unlicensed two hour film could exist when even Disney had to negotiate with Sony to use the character in films. Sony, Disney, and Marvel are all very protective of the character so it’s a surprise to see this film still live. It’s also super unusual to see a fan film of this scope outside of the Star Trek fan film community, especially as the last time a Star Trek fan film attempted a project of this high a production quality level Paramount sued the creator.

    Spider-Man: Lotus’s other major problem is it was funded by a non-profit more than two years ago and immediately faced challenges after the VFX team quit due to racist remarks previously made, separately, by the lead actor and the director.

    Alex Cranz
    Alex Cranz
    The 2024 Mazda CX-5 will have the touch.

    That’s right, the 2024 Mazda CX-5 will have a touch display. Current CX-5s have beautiful infotainment displays, but to navigate CarPlay, Android Auto, or the misery that is Mazda’s own infotainment software you had to use a big dial on the center console by the cupholders.

    I’ve really liked the dial, but it can be infuriating and distracting when I’m at a stoplight and just want to choose a new podcast to listen to. Having the option of just touching a thing is extremely welcomed.

    An image of a Mazda CX-5 infotainment center in CarPlay mode with icons for a variety of iPhone apps.
    It’s just begging to be touched instead of carefully scrolled.
    Image by Mazda
    Alex Cranz
    Alex Cranz
    There’s a new, controversial “Holy Grail” of superconductors.

    Last week a series of papers examining LK-99, a material with the apparent properties of a room temp superconductor, dropped. The problem is there have been deeply flawed claims of achieving this “Holy Grail” before. Plus the research didn’t appear in a peer-reviewed journal and at least one paper has “many defects” according to one of the LK-99 researchers.

    While LK-99 could potentially lead to a generational leap in technology resulting in more efficient power storage, magnetic refrigeration, and major advances in quantum computing, as New Scientist points out, there’s plenty of reason to be skeptical for now.

    A piece of metal partially hovers above a magnet.
    A true superconductor would levitate above the magnet. LK-99 researcher Hyun-Tak Kim told New Scientist this sample was flawed.
    Screenshot by Alex Cranz/The Verge