In the second film of the revived 'Star Trek' movie franchise, J.J. Abrams made the questionable decision to go for something close to a remake of 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' instead of making an original film. He raised even more eyebrows when he cast 'Sherlock' actor Benedict Cumberbatch as the villainous Khan - Cumberbatch is a fine actor, but the original Khan played by Ricardo Montalban was a muscular hulk of a man - perfect for the genetically-engineered superhuman than Khan is supposed to be.
The plan makes a little more sense when you find out that it was originally Benicio Del Toro playing Khan; Del Toro is a little older and bulkier, and so would have probably been more convincing in the role. Unfortunately, the production company and Del Toro couldn't reach an agreement on how much the actor ought to be paid for his performance, and so Cumberbatch stepped in at the last minute.
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.