'Saving Private Ryan' has the grain of military truth running right through it. It was made to honor a real soldier, the cast were trained by real soldiers, and the extras were largely made up of real soldiers. There were also many real soldiers involved as advisers to the film, helping Spielberg to ensure that his scenes stayed close to the truth.
One of those advisers actually ended up on screen in a small role. An older man with a moustache appears as a War Department Colonel at one point to advise General George C. Marshall not to send a rescue party after Private Ryan. If you're going to have a senior military figure in your film offering advice and giving orders, you might as well go with someone who truly knows what he's talking about! The movie is loosely based on real life events involving the capture and recovery of a private, and there were those involved in those events who didn't feel the exercise was wise.
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.