http://www.aawsat.com/english Asharq Alawsat English Edition is your insight into the Middle East en-us © 2012 Saudi Research and Publishing Wed, 26 Feb 2013 13:43:12 GMT 1 http://www.aawsat.com/english http://www.aawsat.com/english/images/aaaeng.gif 144 33 Asharq-e delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest stories, weather, entertainment, politics in the Middle East http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=7&id=32992 Los Angeles, (AP)- List of the 85th annual Academy Award winners announced Sunday in Los Angeles: 1. Best Picture: "Argo." 2. Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln." 3. Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook." 4. Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained." 5. Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables." 6. Directing: Ang Lee, "Life of Pi." 7. Foreign Language Film: "Amour." 8. Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, "Argo." 9. Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, "Django Unchained." 10. Animated Feature Film: "Brave." 11. Production Design: "Lincoln." 12. Cinematography: "Life of Pi." 13. Sound Mixing: "Les Miserables." 14. Sound Editing (tie): "Skyfall," ''Zero Dark Thirty." 15. Original Score: "Life of Pi," Mychael Danna. 16. Original Song: "Skyfall" from "Skyfall," Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth. 17. Costume: "Anna Karenina." 18. Documentary Feature: "Searching for Sugar Man." 19. Documentary (short subject): "Inocente." 20. Film Editing: "Argo." 21. Makeup and Hairstyling: "Les Miserables." 22. Animated Short Film: "Paperman." 23. Live Action Short Film: "Curfew." 24. Visual Effects: "Life of Pi." Tue, 25 Feb 2013 13:43:12 GMT http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=7&id=32965 Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Arabic version of the “X Factor” begins broadcast today, eagerly awaited by fans across the Middle East following an intensive media campaign promoting the show. Arabic music stars Elissa, Carole Samaha, Hussain al-Jasmi, and Wael Kfoury will serve as judges. The British and American versions of the X Factor are among the most popular programs on television, and Arab viewers are eagerly waiting to watch the new-look Arabic version of Simon Cowell’s popular music competition. The Arabic version will feature precisely the same format as its British and American counterparts. The American X Factor production team is in charge of the new Arabic version, while the director previously worked for the British version of the show. X Factor Arabia will also be accompanied by a secondary show that will show viewers what is happening behind the scenes. X Factor Arabia will be made up of 4 stages over 28 episodes. The first 8 episodes will see the contestants being chosen at public auditions. The chosen contestants then go through “boot camp”. Following this, the contestants will perform at the judges’ houses where the judges will make the final decision regarding who goes through to the final round. The final round will see the remaining contestants compete during live shows to win over the general public. Auditions are reportedly going to be held across the Middle East in the UAE, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon and Kuwait. An Arabic version of the X Factor initially premiered on Rotana and LBC in 2006 but was taken off-air after only its second season. X Factor Arabia debuts on 21 February and will be televised every Thursday and Friday on CBC Egypt, Rotana, Khaleejiya, and MTV Lebanon. Fri, 21 Feb 2013 13:43:12 GMT http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=7&id=32871 LOS ANGELES (AP) — List of awards presented during Sunday's telecast of the 55th annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center: — Album of the year: "Babel," Mumford & Sons. — Record of the year: "Somebody That I Used to Know," Gotye featuring Kimbra. — Song of the year: "We Are Young," fun. — New artist: fun. — Pop solo performance: "Set Fire to the Rain (Live)," Adele. — Pop vocal album: "Stronger," Kelly Clarkson. — Rock performance: "Lonely Boy," The Black Keys. — Urban contemporary album: "Channel Orange," Frank Ocean. — Rap/sung collaboration: "No Church in the Wild," Jay-Z, Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean, The-Dream. — Country solo performance: "Blown Away," Carrie Underwood. — Country album: "Uncaged," Zac Brown Band. Tue, 11 Feb 2013 13:43:12 GMT http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=7&id=32863 LONDON,(Reuters) - Here is a list of winners in the main categories at the BAFTAs, Britain's top film awards, which took place in London on Sunday. BEST FILM: "Argo" OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM: "Skyfall" BEST DIRECTOR: Ben Affleck for "Argo" LEADING ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln" LEADING ACTRESS: Emmanuelle Riva in "Amour" SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz in "Django Unchained" SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway in "Les Miserables" ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Quentin Tarantino for "Django Unchained" ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook" FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: "Amour" ORIGINAL MUSIC: "Skyfall" CINEMATOGRAPHY: "Life of Pi" Tue, 11 Feb 2013 13:43:12 GMT http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=7&id=32797 NEW ORLEANS, (Reuters) - The Baltimore Ravens reclaimed the greatest prize in North American sports after a dramatic, nail-biting 34-31 Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Inspired by their power-packed quarterback Joe Flacco, the Ravens survived a ferocious comeback from the 49ers and a bizarre power outage that stopped the game for more than half an hour to win their second Super Bowl. John Harbaugh, the head coach of the Ravens, won the most anticipated sibling rivalry in American team sports against his younger brother Jim, who holds the equivalent job with the 49ers. And Ray Lewis, the combative 37-year-old Ravens linebacker destined for the Hall of Fame, ended his 17 season career with a second Super Bowl title, 12 years after he won his first. "What better way to go out?" said Lewis. "We did it! We did it!" The game, at the Superdome in New Orleans, was preceded by one of the most poignant moments ever witnessed in the 47 editions of the Super Bowl when a choir from Sandy Hook Elementary School joined Jennifer Hudson in a stirring rendition of "America the Beautiful". The 70,000 spectators rose to their feet, many with tears in their eyes, as the children sang, nearly two months after the deadly shooting rampage at their Connecticut school. "Our wish is to demonstrate to America and the world that, "We are Sandy Hook and we choose love," the school said in a statement. The action on the field was as wild as the parties that have taken place in Bourbon St in the days leading up to the game as the Ravens opened up a commanding lead. With Flacco, who was named Most Valuable Player, calling the shots and wide receiver Jacoby Jones scoring two of the most spectacular touchdowns seen in a Super Bowl, the Ravens looked to be cruising to victory when they led 28-6 early in the third quarter. Flacco made a great start, orchestrating a six-play, 51-yard drive on his team's first possession that culminated with a 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Anquan Boldin. In the second quarter, he threw a one-yard scoring pass to tight end Dennis Pitta, then a spectacular 56-yard scoring strike to Jones. The Ravens led 21-6 when Beyonce came out to perform a stunning halftime show then opened the second half with a Super Bowl-record 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Jones that will be shown on highlight reels for generations to come. BLACK OUT But just when it seemed the result was a foregone conclusion, a section of the lights at the Superdome, hosting the Super Bowl for the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005, blacked out. Play was stopped for 35 minutes while red-faced officials and technicians restored power. When it came back on, the game instantly took on a completely different complexion. With Colin Kaepernick finally finding his targets and making inroads with the football in hand, San Francisco piled on 17 unanswered points. When Kaepernick rushed for a touchdown himself with just 10 minutes to go in the final quarter, the margin was down to just two points and momentum was on their side. But Justin Tucker kicked a 38-yard field goal to give his five-team lead and the 49ers failed to score the touchdown they needed to win, getting only a two-point safety, as the Ravens defended their line for dear life. "Five yards short, all the work we did in the offseason, the whole entire season, everything came down to five yards and we weren't able to get it done," said dejected 49ers tackle Joe Staley. Both team played down the impact of the power outage, saying it was the same for both teams, while the Harbaugh brothers embraced each other as confetti rained down from the roof after one of the most emotional nights in American sport. "I just love him obviously. I think anybody out there who has a brother can understand what that is all about," John said. "The meeting with Jim in the middle was probably the most difficult thing I have ever been associated with in my life. I am proud of him." Tue, 04 Feb 2013 13:43:12 GMT http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=7&id=32777 The Majalla—When I was spending summer afternoons copying Arabic lettering off the blackboard at Oxford University’s Oriental Institute, I would often catch myself staring out of the dull, aluminum-framed windows. Where were the sweeping skylines pricked with minarets, the romantic deserts, the bustling bazaars of my imagined Middle East? Where were the clash and drama of newspaper coverage of wars and revolutions? Much of the Arabic syllabus seemed to peter out around the time of the Ottoman Empire’s conquest of Constantinople in 1453, and their takeover of the Arab World soon thereafter. Strangely, it seemed to me, even Britain’s extraordinary twentieth century moment in the Middle East was almost never discussed in my university classes. In those days, soon after the publication of Edward Saïd’s Orientalism, our teachers were also determined to avoid the Orientalist label. Sweeping vistas were out. The fashion was for minute, detailed study of manageably small events and narrow themes—and, for me, those impossible-looking curves and dots scratched in chalk on the blackboard. One result was that I began to nurse a secret love of the breezy memoirs and letters of the British who passed through the history of the East and could write well about it: Lady Wortley Montague, dragomans and ambassadors; or officials like John Bagot Glubb (dubbed “Glubb Pasha”), Sir Mark Sykes and Sir Harry Luke, even a glossy vision of Iraq that leaped from the pages of the 1955 yearbook of the London-based Iraqi Petroleum Company, a treasure I discovered on an upper floor of Baghdad’s old book market. The most glamorous of them all, of course, was T. E. Lawrence—Lawrence of Arabia—and his voluptuous literary feast, the Seven Pillars of Wisdom. This promised and delivered “the sweep of the open spaces, the taste of wide winds, the sunlight and the hopes.” Before going up to Oxford I had bought a copy of this account of the 1916–1918 Arab Revolt. I thrilled to his desert guerrilla raiding as a semi-amateur British army officer, his seamless acceptance into a different world to which I aspired to belong. I admired his promotion of the oppressed Arabs’ cause, and the selfless sacrifice of his status when London betrayed their promises of Arab independence. This work seemed to be considered almost pornographic by the Oriental Institute dons, but since we never studied the period or discussed the book in any depth, I never learned why. Then one recent day in Edinburgh, I came across the plain black cover of the first edition of Richard Aldington’s Lawrence of Arabia: A Biographical Enquiry, a book I had never heard of. Here, in the folds of what I judged was measured prose, was concealed a jeweled dagger of a polemic. It led me into a whole world of debate about the Lawrence story—the great film, the (lack of) sex, his genius, his psychology—of which I am no scholar. But Aldington’s arguments did ring startlingly true as he portrayed Lawrence as one of my bugbears, a writer who exploits the confusion and magical reputation of the Middle East to play fast and loose with the facts. Aldington was ambitious, seeking to deconstruct “the legend of Lawrence,” and to prove that key parts of his work were “heightened, exaggerated, faked, boastful and sometimes entirely without foundation,” making the British hero “at least half a fraud.” Even Lawrence’s trade-mark blowing up of Hejaz Railway trains, he said, was just “a wartime intensification of a constant peacetime nuisance,” and what other British and French officers equally proficient in such guerrilla actions lacked “was literary skill to write up their achievements.” Aldington acknowledges that Lawrence’s lyrical description of the march to capture the Red Sea anchorage of Al-Wajh is “one of the admired set pieces of Seven Pillars,” with much singing, bouncing camels and barbaric splendor. But he then notes that Lawrence brought his men up two days late for the fight, during which British navy ships and men did the real fighting while the Bedouins hung back or looted. As for the ramshackle capture of the Red Sea harbor town of Aqaba—“another Gallipoli,” according to Seven Pillars—it had been done twice before in the war. Later, the final British race through Palestine to Syria in 1918 was won thanks to old-fashioned bludgeoning by General Edmund Allenby’s main army columns, with Lawrence and his light raiders at most slightly distracting the Ottoman-German command with skirmishing on the desert flanks. It is sickening to read Aldington’s indictment of the massacres of retreating Ottoman and German troops by Lawrence and his Bedouin irregulars, even if Lawrence admitted the slaughter. As for the great price on his head that Lawrence suggested was offered by his enemies, Aldington can find no evidence for it—nor indeed any mention of Lawrence in any of several accounts published by German or Ottoman officers who served in the Arabian peninsula. Aldington also challenges a central pillar of the Lawrence legend. Lawrence told one of his biographers, Basil Liddell Hart, that “since about sixteen years of age [he had been] filled with the idea of freeing people and had chosen the Arabs as the only suitable ones left.” Later, Lawrence said he resigned from government service because Britain betrayed promises forwarded by him to the leaders of the Arab revolt, or as he puts it in Seven Pillars, “an Arab war waged and led by Arabs for an Arab aim in Arabia.” Perhaps Lawrence was torn between a pro-Arab commitment and official instructions, but Aldington finds no proof that any authority ordered him to make any promises. Surprisingly, he even finds evidence that Lawrence’s Arabic was far from fluent. While Lawrence and the British faction to which he belonged may have had sincere sympathy for the Arab cause, Aldington believes “these causes were in the main British camouflage for . . . excluding the French.” As Lawrence put it in one letter, British policy should be to “biff the French out of all hope of Syria . . . won’t the French be mad if we win through?” Aldington shows too the extraordinary degree to which Lawrence—not known to public opinion during the First World War itself—was catapulted to fame due to a delayed-action trick of US wartime propaganda. An American team out to boost morale, reporter Lowell Thomas and photographer Harry Chase, had tried the Western front but there, as Aldington puts it, “the drab butchery . . . did not lend itself either to thrilling photography or to eloquent narrative.” The pair then hit upon the idea of the Arabian front, where they found a ready and photogenic Lawrence. The resulting show, eventually entitled With Allenby in Palestine and Lawrence in Arabia, was only ready in 1919, after the war was over. After a modest beginning in New York, the lecture tour became a sensation in the English-speaking world, with two thousand performances over four years. It was a true feast for the Orientalist imagination. In London, the promoters borrowed a “Moonlight on the Nile” scene from an opera set, a Dance of the Seven Veils was performed, and an Irish tenor off-stage sang a musical version of the Muslim call to prayer. Aldington says this was irresistible to a British public still in shock from the war: “What was now wanted was a success story, and who could give it better than an American, for whom success is a national duty? The technique was hardly understood at all in England, where advertising seldom rose above a flat monotony of uninventive mendacity—‘Ponsonby’s Pickles are the Best’ . . . Anyone who has seen a Japanese judo expert throwing hundredweights of London policemen about a stage will realize what Lowell Thomas did mentally and emotionally with those naïve British audiences.” The spectacle’s focus on Lawrence went so far as to include an inaccurate film subtitle stating that Lawrence dynamited the Hejaz Railway while other British officers remained at base. Lawrence’s own Seven Pillars of Wisdom followed, published in various public editions from 1926 onwards. In the introduction, Lawrence strikes a modest pose: "My proper share was a minor one, but because of a fluent pen, a free speech, and a certain adroitness of brain, I took upon myself, as I describe it, a mock primacy. In reality I never had any office among the Arabs: was never in charge of the British mission with them." But for all Lawrence’s later denials, Aldington painstakingly shows he was deeply involved in helping Thomas create the show that put him front and center. As Lawrence told Thomas, “History isn’t made up of truth anyway, so why worry?” Aldington says he began his commission with no particular feelings about Lawrence. Aldington was a minor poet of the 1910s imagist school, dedicated to replacing romantic abstractions with exact observed detail and apt metaphors, and one of sixteen First World War poets commemorated in London’s Westminster Abbey. He had also edited a literary magazine, written a successful novel based on his grueling years in the trenches of the Western Front, and published a prize-winning biography of the Duke of Wellington. Yet publication of his unexpected findings about Lawrence gravely damaged Aldington’s reputation, book sales, and health. Britain was not ready to see its only hero to emerge from the morass of the war toppled, and many disapproved of his revelation of Lawrence’s probably “humiliating and painful” feelings about his illegitimate birth. When Aldington died in July 1962, seven years after publishing his Lawrence book, his obituary in The Times said he was “an angry young man of the generation before they became fashionable; he remained something of an angry old man to the end.” It called his attacks on British middle class values “shrill” and suggested that his Lawrence of Arabia book would be “better forgotten.” And forgotten it was, a mere footnote now in the Lawrence legend industry. For a few—Richard Aldington and Lawrence of Arabia: A Cautionary Tale, by Fred Crawford—it proves how hard it is to attack a national idol. More usually—as in John Mack’s Prince of our Disorder, which won a Pulitzer in 1976—Lawrence remains “a great man and an important historical figure . . . [who] strongly influenced the [war’s] military outcome and the political aftermath.” Mack allows that Lawrence was at times “less than completely accurate” and “had some tendency to exaggerate his role and importance.” But Aldington’s work, he says, was a “flagrant example of the use of psychology . . . for denigrating purposes.” Michael Korda, author of the most recent biography Hero, says Aldington was “obviously” wrong to dispute Lawrence’s claim that he was offered the prestigious top British job in Egypt after the war. But the proof of this is missing—indeed he implies Aldington was right in a way, saying any such offer was not serious—and Korda exaggerates in saying that Aldington’s “whole case” rests on this “idée fixe.” Nevertheless, Korda dismisses Aldington’s findings as “minor stuff” and a “sad object lesson in the perils of obsessive self-righteousness.” Still, even Korda allows that “somebody was bound to come along and correct the balance” after the previous biographical “panegyrics . . . without any serious effort at independent research.” And Aldington does not accuse Lawrence of treachery, as one of Lawrence’s loyal fellow officers has suggested. He just draws attention to grandiose misrepresentation of Lawrence’s role, partly due to Lawrence’s own efforts, partly because everyone wanted to believe it. Some writers on the Middle East have always doped up narratives, shaped up stories for audiences, or appropriated others’ work as their own. Such self-serving sensationalism is hard to expose, since normal people want to trust colleagues, newspapers and government figures—especially those heroically caught up in great events. Fact-checking is also difficult in this tumultuous region, and few in the Western audience can compare what they read with personal experience. It is precisely these generations of repeated inaccuracies that have widened the gulf of understanding between the region and Western public opinion. Aldington was bravely ready to show that reality counts, and paid a great price for showing that a fabulous legend was an extraordinary but hyped-up story. No wonder those Oxford academics preferred digging up matters that are buried in a deep and less sensitive past. Sun, 02 Feb 2013 13:43:12 GMT http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=7&id=32745 KABUL (Reuters) - With a scarf loosely covering a fancy television hairstyle, Latifa Azizi raised her arms in victory after surviving another elimination round on the hit talent show, "Afghan Star". But the victory pales into insignificance when compared with the larger battle 17-year-old Azizi is fighting - to pursue her dream of becoming a famous singer despite the censure of ultra-conservative Afghan society. "Whether I win or lose, my family can't go back home, it's too dangerous," Azizi, from the relatively liberal northern capital of Mazar-e-Sharif, told Reuters in the show's dressing room. Azizi and her family fled Mazar for the Afghan capital, Kabul, soon after she appeared on the show in November. Her community was angry with her appearance, saying it was un-Islamic for a woman to sing and appear on television. The family began to receive death threats. "Latifa will have no life here after what she's done. We don't do such things and we don't accept people who do," said Sayed Mohammad Kasem, a member of Azizi's tribe in Mazar-e-Sharif. The threats began after the airing of her audition for "Afghan Star". With an audience of 11 million, the six-year-old show has become an important vehicle for young Afghans aspiring to become famous singers. "I went to school the day after my audition aired to take my final exams and my classmates started to shout horrible things and pulled at my hair," Azizi said in a soft low voice. "I ran away crying," she said. "Not even my teachers tried to help me." Azizi said she was eventually expelled. The school's headmaster, Mohammad Kalanderi, denied that when contacted by Reuters and said Latifa could come back whenever she wanted. The backlash Azizi faces is not out of the ordinary for Afghan women who become public figures. Female actors and singers are often harassed, and sometimes beaten and killed. In a 2009 documentary about "Afghan Star", one contestant was forced to leave her hometown of Herat in the country's west after her head scarf slipped to her shoulders during a performance. During the 1996-2001 reign of the Taliban, women were banned from school, voting and most work. They were not allowed to leave their homes without a man. Many women's rights have been painstakingly won back since the Taliban's overthrow, but there are fears violence against women is under-reported. Last year also saw a worrying spike in violence, including several cases of female school students being poisoned. This has led to fears that, when most NATO-led forces withdraw from the country next year, women may once again be subject to Taliban-style repression and violence. "Every day that passes by, you're supposed to move forward, but we keep moving backwards," said singer and "Afghan Star" judge Shahla Zaland, whose mother was also a famous singer in the 1960s. "The struggles female singers had to overcome fifty or sixty years ago are being faced by these girls today." Even in Kabul, Azizi and the only other female contestant receive constant threats. People follow their cars as they travel to rehearsals to try to discourage them from attending, and issue threats of violence over the phone. Azizi told Reuters she would not let the threats stop her from appearing on the show. Her father, Sayed Gulham Shah Azizi, agreed. "Our family is angry but my daughter had a dream," he said in the family living room. "What else was I to do but encourage her to pursue it?" Thu, 30 Jan 2013 13:43:12 GMT http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=7&id=32722 WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown is under investigation for an alleged assault in a West Hollywood parking lot, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said early Monday. Deputies responding to a report of six men fighting Sunday night found the scene clear, but were told by witnesses there had been a brief fight over a parking space. "The altercation allegedly led to Chris Brown punching the victim," the department said in a statement released early Monday morning. The "victim" wasn't identified, but the celebrity website TMZ, which first reported the fight outside the Westlake Recording Studio, said it also involved Frank Ocean, one of the top nominees at the Grammy Awards next month. In a Twitter posting later, Ocean said he "got jumped by (Brown) and a couple guys" and suffered a finger cut. It wasn't Brown's first problem in the run-up to the Grammys. His attack on singer Rihanna on the eve of the 2009 awards event overshadowed the show. Last June, he was injured in a brawl with members of hip-hop star Drake's entourage at a New York nightclub. No arrests were made. Brown was gone by the time deputies arrived but the department said the investigation is ongoing and Brown would be contacted later. Email messages to Ocean's publicist and Brown's lawyer and representative were not immediately returned. A man answering the phone at the recording studio declined to comment. Tue, 28 Jan 2013 13:43:12 GMT http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=7&id=32710 BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) — J.J. Abrams calls getting assigned to direct the seventh live-action "Star Wars" film "as surreal as it is exciting." The director-producer-writer spoke with a handful of media outlets on the red carpet before darting into the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday night. Abrams was there to accept the Norman Lear Achievement Award for such television works as "Felicity" (1998-2002), "Alias" (2001-2006), "Lost" (2004-2010), "Fringe" (2008-2013) as well as the current series "Person of Interest" and "Revolution." Abrams also is proving to be a go-to director of successful new films for long-established franchises, such as "Star Trek" and "Mission: Impossible." Last week, Lucasfilm officially announced Abrams' hiring for "Star Wars: Episode VII," which has a tentative release date of 2015. "Star Wars" creator George Lucas personally endorsed Abrams in a statement: "I've consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller. He's an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn't be in better hands." As for Abrams' plans for "Episode VII"? "You know, obviously, it's so early," he replied. "I can just say what I want to do: I want to do the fans proud. I want to make sure the story is something that touches people. And we're just getting started. I'm very excited." Mon, 27 Jan 2013 13:43:12 GMT http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=7&id=32631 PHOENIX,(Reuters) - An Arizona man with a special fondness for caped crusader Batman and his sidekick Robin bought the original Batmobile driven in the iconic television series with a bid of $4.2 million at an auction on Saturday. Rick Champagne, a Phoenix-area logistics company owner, came away with the black, futuristic two-seater featured in the "Batman" series starring Adam West and Burt Ward from 1966 to 1968, following a flurry of spirited bidding at the Scottsdale, Arizona, auction. "I really liked Batman growing up and I came here with the intention of buying the car," Champagne, 56, told Reuters in a brief interview moments after he bought the car. "Sure enough, I was able to buy it. That was a dream come true." The Barrett-Jackson auction was the first time the car was put up for public sale. In addition to the $4.2 million bid price, the buyer will have to pay an additional roughly $420,000 in premiums. The Batmobile is based on a 1955 Lincoln Futura, a concept car built in Italy by the Ford Motor Co. In 1965, the concept car was bought for a nominal $1 by noted customizer George Barris, who had a mere 15 days and $15,000 to transform the vehicle for the show. He has owned it ever since. Barris told Reuters he had supplied vehicles for movies and television shows before, but this one had to be markedly different than the others. "With every pow, bang, wow, wee, I wanted the car to do something just like the actors," said Barris, 87, in an interview before the auction. "The car had to be a star on its own. And it became one." The car has a V-8 engine and instruments in the steering wheel, plus innovative items like a push-button transmission. But generations may remember it best for Bat gadgets added for the series, including a car phone and the ability to deploy such things as oil, smoke and nails to thwart villains - not to mention twin rear parachutes for quick Bat turns. Barris said the vehicle toured the country after the series and a movie and then was housed in a private showroom in California. He said it was time to part with the popular car and let a new owner have the Bat keys. Mon, 20 Jan 2013 13:43:12 GMT