Wikinews Shorts: December 7, 2007

Paris Hilton film announces soundtrack
Lionsgate Films and Twisted Pictures announced the artists on the soundtrack of Repo! The Genetic Opera, yesterday.

Among those contributing the soundtrack are Richard Patrick (Filter), Steven Perkins (Jane's Addiction), Clown (Slipknot), Ray Luzier (Army of Anyone), Brian Young (David Lee Roth's band), Richard Fortus (Guns & Roses), Sonny Moore (First to Last), David J (Bauhaus/Love & Rockets), Daniel Ash (Love & Rockets), Blasko (Ozzy Osborne), Tommy Clefetus (Rob Zombie's band), Melora Creager (Rasputina). Pop singer Poe is the only solo artist on the album.

The cast, all of whom sing their own songs, includes Anthony Head, Paul Sorvino, Alexa Vega, Sarah Brightman, Bill Moseley and Kevin Ogilvie. Gathering the most headlines for the movie, though, is hotel heiress Paris Hilton. Hilton's 2006 debut album Paris reached #6 on the Billboard album chart.

The movie is set in 2056, where organ failures are common. Fictional biotech firm GeneCo offers organ transplants, but those who can't pay up get their parts repossessed.

Sources

Conrad Black named Maclean's Newsmaker of the Year
Canadian news magazine Maclean's has chosen its equivalent of the TIME Magazine Person of the Year, jailed business tycoon Conrad Black.

Conrad faces a cruel business in the months and years ahead. But he is a resilient man, and the way he has comported himself throughout this ordeal, which bordered on a nobility even his detractors grudgingly acknowledged, suggests that he will survive whatever lies ahead, and makes him Maclean's "Newsmaker of the Year." And, Maclean's, along with its readers, watch and wait to see if the mighty will rise again.

The issue looks at the top new faces of the year, the "exits" of people and things, a Political Yearbook, and more. The issue hit newsstands yesterday.

Sources