Elvis Costello, Rosanne Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, Taj Mahal and Neko Case are set to sing on the project, with Matthew McConaughey, Meg Ryan, former boxer Joe Frazier and Costello doing readings, as well. Both projects are produced with the input of producer T-Bone Burnett — who described the sound as “dark, foggy … and scary.”

The novelist King authored the narrative, while veteran singer-songwriter Mellencamp added music and lyrics. “It sounds like the Sgt. Pepper of Americana to me,” Mellencamp said in pre-release materials, adding that the goal was to make the recording sound something like “an old radio play” complete with dialogue and sound effects.

Relativity will be the domestic distributor and will release the film internationally through its network of foreign output partners. The film is targeted for an April 11, 2014 release date.

The film will be produced by Relativity’s CEO, Ryan Kavanaugh (The Fighter), Hasbro’s Goldner (Transformers) and Bennett Schneir, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Motion Pictures (Battleship). Tooley (Immortals) will serve as executive producer.

Hasbro has become an entertainment powerhouse by creating hit movies and television shows from its rich portfolio of world class brands. Since 2007, Hasbro’s Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises have grossed nearly $3 billion at the worldwide box office. 2012 is shaping up to be another stellar year for Hasbro with its partners Universal Pictures releasing Battleship in April and Paramount Pictures releasing G.I. Joe: Retaliation in June. In television, Hasbro Studios produces shows like Transformers Prime and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic that can be seen on the HUB television network in the U.S. and in more than 140 countries globally.

“We are absolutely thrilled to partner with Hasbro, a company whose global reach and ability to innovate has made them immensely successful in the arena of brand re-imagination– as evidenced by their legacy of creating such franchises as Transformers and G.I. Joe,” said Tooley, “We look forward to bringing Stretch Armstrong to audiences worldwide.”

“Stretch Armstrong is a great example of Hasbro’s rich portfolio of intellectual properties that we are continuing to develop globally,” said Goldner, “We are excited to partner with Relativity on this movie as they are a growing and innovative studio.”

Stretch Armstrong is the classic action hero figure first launched by Hasbro in 1976 and re-launched in the 90’s, sold successfully throughout North America and in markets across the world. The original Stretch’s unique design broke free of traditional action figures, as he could be stretched over and over and always returned back to his original size. The nostalgic toy is considered to be rare and collectible to this day.

Jerry Seinfeld is so excited about the new Acura NSX that he will stop at nothing to acquire the very first one. Check out the extended version of Acura’s big game commercial. See what else Jerry would do for the first new NSX.

To celebrate the launch of the all-new 2012 CR-V, Honda brought Ferris Bueller’s Day Off back in a big game commercial.  Honda cast Matthew Broderick as himself, skipping out on a day of acting work and living it up in his all-new CR-V. Relive movie history with Honda’s fresh twist and wonderful homage to this ’80s classic.

Think you’re a true fan of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? They hid over two dozen references to the movie throughout the commercial. Some are obvious, some are VERY subtle. See how many you can find.

My Brother George and his wife, Jennifer  are going to do something pretty amazing and extreme. They are asking for your support. George and Jennifer are going to have their heads shaved at a St. Baldrick’s Foundation event on March 16th, 2012. With their bald heads, they’ll stand in solidarity with kids being treated for cancer while raising money for life-saving research.

Please make a donation on their behalf to help them reach their goal of $1,500 and watch them and others “Shaving the Way to Conquer Kids’ Cancer!” This is a fun way to do something very important.

You can give directly online (search for Palaziol at www.StBaldricks.org) or by phone at 888-899-BALD. Credit cards are the most efficient way to give, or you can write a check payable to “St. Baldrick’s Foundation.”

George and Jennifer will be collecting pledges! To see a list of their donors, fundraising progress, and “before” and “after” photos, visit their page on the St. Baldrick’s website.

St. Baldrick’s funds more in grants for childhood cancer research than any other organization except the U.S. government. Last year, the Foundation has funded nearly $22 million in new grants – all because over 45,000 people shaved their heads!

You can count on this donation being used responsibly. To see all the research being funded – by disease type, location and more – visit www.StBaldricks.org and click on “Where the Money Goes,” then “View Grants.” On behalf of some very special kids, thank you for your support!

Some fun places to peruse on the internet while you listen to the interview:

- Visit Joe Hill Fiction.com

- Follow Joe Hill on Twitter

- Joe’s first published comics work, Spider-man Unlimited #8, featuring the story “Fanboyz” drawn by the late, great Seth Fisher

- Discover the world of Locke & Key

- Keyhouse‘s Design and 3D Model

- Limited Edition Convention Exclusive Keys

- The Locke & Key pilot page at IMDB.com

- Road Rage IDW Comics

John Romita’s The Amazing Spider-Man: Artist’s Edition ($100) is the next book in the ongoing Artist’s Edition series from IDW Publishing. Collecting six classic issues from Romita’s stellar run on The Amazing Spider-Man, each and every page scanned from the original art and presented at full size, the same as it looked on Romita’s drawing table.

Artist’s Editions are printed the same size as the original art. While appearing to be in black & white, each page has been scanned in color to mimic as closely as possible the experience of viewing the actual original art—for example, you are able to clearly see paste-overs, blue pencils in the art, editorial notes, art corrections. Each page is printed the same size as drawn, and the paper selected is as close as possible to the original art board.

The 152 page hardcover will be available in stores on February 1st.

A Wasteland Companion, Ward’s sixth solo album, will be released in the US & Canada on April 10 via Merge Records, April 9 in the UK on Bella Union and April 6th in Australia & New Zealand through Spunk Records.

Inspired by his increasingly itinerant lifestyle Ward set forth to create something of a musical travelogue. He explains, “Between now and when I made Hold Time there has been a lot of traveling which requires a lot of reckoning with what to leave behind and what to carry – material and otherwise – and thinking about what I want versus what I need, creatively and otherwise. I wanted to get a reflection of that on the album. It was a process of stripping away my security blanket, which is the same four walls I always record in.”

The album was made with 18 musicians and recorded in eight different studios in Portland, Omaha, New York City, Los Angeles, Austin and Bristol (UK). A Wasteland Companion features the talents of M Ward (piano, guitars, voice, production), Mike Coykendall (percussion, bass), Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb (piano), John Parish (percussion, marimba), Bright Eyes’ Mike Mogis (organ), Susan Sanchez (vocals), She & Him’s Zooey Deschanel (vocals), Jordan Hudson (percussion), Adam Selzer (bass), Nathan “JR” Andersen (piano), Scott McPherson (percussion), Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley (percussion), Dr. Dog’s Tobey Leaman (bass), Devotchka’s Tom Hagerman (strings), Oakely Hall’s Rachel Cox (vocals), Amanda Lawrence (violin), John Graboff (pedal steel) and Tyler Tornfelt (bass). The recording utilized eight engineers, including Tom Schick (Rufus Wainwright) and John Parish (PJ Harvey)

Track listing:

1. Clean Slate (for Alex & El Goodo)

2. Primitive Girl

3. Me And My Shadow

4. Sweetheart

5. I Get Ideas

6. The First Time I Ran Away

7. A Wasteland Companion

8. Watch The Show

9. There’s A Key

10. Crawl After You

11. Wild Goose

12. Pure Joy

The album is available for pre-order now at www.mwardmusic.com

Here is a list of upcoming shows:

Feb 2 Los Angeles, CA Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Apr 11 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore

Apr 12 Santa Cruz, CA The Cocoanut Grove Ballroom

Apr 13 Indio, CA Coachella **SOLD OUT**

Apr 14 Santa Barbara, CA SoHO

Apr 16 San Diego, CA Belly Up

Apr 17 Phoenix, AZ Crescent Ballroom

Apr 18 Flagstaff, AZ The Orpheum

Apr 20 Indio, CA Coachella **SOLD OUT**

May 5  Portland, ME State Theatre

May 6  Burlington, VT Higher Ground

May 7  New Haven, CT Toads Place

May 8  Boston, MA House of Blues

May 11 New York, NY Webster Hall

May 12 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer

May 13 Washington, DC 9:30 Club

May 15 Durham, NC Duke Performances at Page Auditorium

May 16 Athens, GA Georgia Theatre

May 17 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theatre

May 22 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre

May 24 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue