If you're interested in military history, you may have seen or read the work of Stephen Ambrose. He was one of the world's foremost experts on warfare, and unsurprisingly Spielberg consulted him when he was putting his masterpiece together. If you want to make something authentic, it's wise to seek the opinions of those who know the most about your subject matter.
Spielberg wanted to make sure he'd got the film just right, and so arranged a special screening of the movie for Ambrose before the general public got to see it. Twenty minutes in, Ambrose walked out. It's not that he hated the film; quite the opposite. It was so realistic and so intense that it impacted him profoundly. He took a pause to compose himself and prepare his mind to endure the rest of what he was going to watch, and then went back in to finish the job. Needless to say, he gave it his seal of approval.
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.