When the history of gay cinema comes to be written in full, the name of Sir Ian McKellan will be featured prominently. He appears here in 'Bent' as part of an all-star cast which also includes Clive Owen, Jude Law, and Rachel Weisz. Mick Jagger also makes an unexpected cameo appearance. Martin Sherman wrote the screenplay, which was an adaptation of his own book, which had the same title and was published in 1979. The film, with Sean Mathias in the director's chair, hit the big screen in 1997.
The film, made in collaboration by British and Japanese producers, is a dark and grim tale, dealing with the persecution of gay men in Nazi Germany, and the infamous 'Night of the Long Knives' in particular. The film's central character Max struggles to maintain the secrecy of his sexuality under the circumstances, which leads to him being dragged into unimaginable horror.
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.