Remakes are all the rage in Hollywood right now, and it sometimes feels like all of your favorite films from childhood are being pointlessly remade, ruining your memories of the original. This is not a new trend, it was already happening way back in 1939, although back then they had much better reasons for it; many popular stories had been adapted for film during the silent era, and now with sound and color they could be told better and in more detail.
'The Wizard of Oz' was one such film, having been made fourteen years earlier in 1925. The original interpretation is actually a much more accurate reflection of the book, ending with Dorothy choosing to stay in Oz rather than returning to Kansas. There's also a star turn in the film; Oliver Hardy plays the Tin Man. He would go on to form one of the most popular comedy partnerships of all time with Stan Laurel.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.