1. This movie is hilarious. I’m glad I didn’t see any of the trailers before watching it, because they’re both objectively terrible, and terribly inaccurate about the movie’s tone. The studio was clearly trying to market it as some kind of cynical grimdark thriller (and in the process just made it look overwrought and boring). But regardless of the movie they set out to make, the movie they have is a gleefully over-the-top action-comedy sprinkled with kinky undertones that the movie leans into a lot harder than you might expect from a PG-13 four-quadrant franchise installment.
Nothing about this movie is subtle, and that’s part of what makes it enjoyable. Tom Hardy does a full-on physical comedy routine interacting with a blob of CGI goo with teeth, and somehow makes it work. The symbiote itself is a constantly hungry insult comic with tentacles, and you get the sense that at least most of the people involved in this project (if not the studio marketing department) understand that this is supposed to be funny and weird and are just going for it. Scene that ends with Eddie climbing into a lobster tank? Went for it. Monster kiss? Went for it. Venom’s very serious and not at all suggestive tongue:
Why are people still up in arms about AO3 needing donations to run? Their budget is publicly available. You can go onto the website, right now, and read it. If you donate more than a certain amount (pretty sure it’s more than $10), you can vote in their elections, because you’re considered a member, and that’s how memberships work.
It’s a free site to use, but not to run or to maintain, especially not with all these net neutrality battles.
Y’all gotta understand that it’s not just fanworks, there’s a lot more that goes into archiving.
Signal boosting this because it’s important af. OTW is a nonprofit organization, specifically a public charity as classified by the US tax code. That means they file a 990 tax report each year that lets you see all of their finances – what they’re spending money on, where their money comes from, etc. You can see their 2016 990 here if you’re so inclined.
And if you’re not sure about how OTW is using their donations? Ask questions. Get involved. Even if you’re not comfortable with or not in a position to donate, there are lots of opportunities to give your time; it’s an all-volunteer organization that recruits regularly. I know for a fact that I get more value out of what OTW provides than most, if not all, my other paid services combined, so $10 to be a member is more than worth it.
ao3 is routinely used as an example of an excellent digital archive in library and information schools – they’re not just a fansite; they’re held in high regard by people across the industry. they run initiatives to preserve old fansites and groups, in addition to the day to day work of hosting all of our work ad-free to ensure maximum creative freedom. ao3 is not just a place to post your fic; it catalogues and preserves our history and culture.
kototyph 