The auction of the Batmobile from the 1995 movie excrement known as Batman Forever, spectacularly failed to impress bidders at a recent auction.
Like the movie, it had high expectations with a reserve of $600,000-$800,000 but, in the end, crashed and burned by selling for just $297,000. That’s just over 10% of what it cost to build in the first place. Here’s what the auction site said:
"The Batmobile presented here is a running and driving example constructed in Australia with a fiberglass body and a custom tubular chassis. Its mold cost a reported $2,500,000 and an additional $300,000 was invested to complete the vehicle. As a promotional vehicle, not used in filming, it embarked on various promotional tours around the world before its eventual acquisition by Mr. Wiseman in 1999. It remains fully intact and functional with no damage to speak of. Despite a certain degree of surface texture and minor paint cracking and scuffs, the car remains in very presentable condition. The interior has held up nicely and is entirely custom made, while the undercarriage has been detailed to the standards required for cinema productions. Bat-gadgets such as the rear jet flame are completely functional."
Sold through RM Auctions the Batmobile was expected to draw big publicity and bucks so what happened? It's all in the fine print. A quick look reveals an insane list of conditions attached to the sale by movie studio, Warner Brothers. These included one that said the owner, now down almost $300,000, cannot drive the Batmobile in public. Ever.
You can read the rest of the conditions after the jump.-Martin Lynch
[RM Auctions]
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I love LaCie’s designer approach to storage, even if it does dent your wallet that little bit more than the competition. Who remembers the snappy Lego Brick storage drives, the alien-looking Huby connectivity hub, or the LaCie Rugged All-Terrain drives?
I’d be quite happy shelling out a few quid extra when I get to stare at the company’s latest designer external storage drive than the fugly grey lump plastic on my desk right now. This is the Hard Disk, Design by Neil Poulton, which owes more than a nod to the floating monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and which is why is looks very cool indeed.
Poulton is a multi-award winning designer and the man who invented the Ageing Pen back in the 1980s, made from a plastic that aged and changed colour the more it was used.
The glossy drive, finished in ‘mirror black’ comes with LaCie ‘1-Click’ Backup Software for PC and Mac.-Martin Lynch
[LaCie UK]
storage USB HDD lacie
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Following hot on the heels of the BBC’s official launch of its HD service, Channel 4 will offer HD content on Sky from today.
The HD content line-up will contain a ‘proportion’ of its regular programmes in HD, like Ugly Betty and some live gigs from The Scissor Sisters and Keane. There will also be some ‘classic and contemporary movies’ - the lack of detail here hardly inspires confidence in what’s coming though.
From Spring 2008, a HD version of Hollyoaks soap will also starting beaming into your homes. Riveting. Those with a Sky HD box will find the new content on channel 140, where available.
"Channel 4's mission is to innovate and provide its high quality programming across all platforms in formats that consumers want," said Rod Henwood, director of new business at Channel 4. "By launching the UK's first terrestrial simulcast service, we are living up to our reputation as an innovator in television and providing a unique service to our viewers."
The arrival of Channel 4 makes 14 HD channels on the Sky platform, although not all of those are free to regular subscribers.-Martin Lynch
[Digital Spy]
TV c4 HD HDTV
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For those inevitable trips to see the relatives over the Christmas break, you may want something to keep the rugrats under control in the car.
While much of the world is moving to portable video players, the vast majority still uses DVDs and a portable DVD player is the simplest option for entertainment on the go. HannsG has introduced its HP076VD player with a 7in screen for a bargain basement £65.
The rechargeable battery offers an underwhelming two hours of playback but at least you get a 12Vcable for running it off the car cigarette lighter thrown in too. The player also supports Kodak Picture CDs, MP3s and JPEG photos from CD. The composite AV cable will allow you to hook it up to a larger screen once you get where you’re going.
Cheap and cheerful, this hardly sets gadget world on fire but then it won’t burn a hole in your pocket either.-Martin Lynch
[Misco]
gadgets movies DVD portable
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Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
