'The Wizard of Oz' without 'Over the Rainbow' would be like 'The Bodyguard' without 'I Will Always Love You' or 'Titanic' without 'My Heart Will Go On'. The song is such a big part of the film that the two are linked in the minds of everyone who's seen it. And yet it nearly ended up on the cutting room floor.
The team of MGM Directors behind the picture were worried that the song was too long, and that younger viewers would get bored by it. Fortunately, common sense prevailed, and it stayed in the final edit. The song would go on to be ranked as the greatest movie song of all time by the American Film Institute, and has been preserved by the Library of Congress, who have marked it as 'culturally, historically or artistically significant'. Judy Garland included the song in her performances all the way up to her death in 1969.
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.