Keanu Reeves' poker face is one of the things that makes the character of Neo in 'The Matrix' so cool. You never know what he's thinking or feeling - he just beats people up and gets on with his day, and looks great while he's doing it. If Will Smith played the part, and was cracking jokes and dropping one-liners to Agent Smith every time he defeated a version of him, the film might lose some of that invaluable cool factor. It nearly happened, though - Smith was the guy that the Wachowski brothers came looking for first.
Nobody knew how 'The Matrix' would turn out when it was in pre-production. The team making it had no track record of success, and the script was a little weird. Smith - perhaps conscious that he was developing a reputation as a 'science fiction guy' after making 'Men in Black' and 'Independence Day,' didn't want to get involved. Three billion dollars in revenue later, we think it's safe to say he'd play that one a little differently if he got the chance again.
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.