CNN Loves Pixar and the Oscars!

CNN is doing a fantastic job of bringing Pixar related stories up front as the 82nd Annual Academy Awards approach this Sunday!

Last month the news group brought us Pete Docter’s reaction to his film’s multiple nominations, including Best Picture, on that fateful Groundhog Day. Today, CNN.com has a great interview with Carl Fredericksen himself, Ed Asner and musician extraordinaire Michael Giacchino!

The piece on Ed reveals that the 80-year-old actor hadn’t actually seen a Pixar film until WALL•E. The good news is that when he did go out to see the Lamp’s 2008 masterpiece, he absolutely loved it. Of course, Asner was instantly excited to be working on the next Pixar film!

Ed’s only objection; he doesn’t feel Disney/Pixar’s marketing team clearly exemplify how mature the film’s themes can be which, as it happened in his case, cause many adults to miss out on great rides. Asner did note that he’s always loved cartoons and believes that they should be treated as equals to every other film medium.

There’s much more in the full interview, but it doesn’t stop there. CNN spoke with Michael Giacchino, the composer of Up who has secured the Best Original Score category in every major awards show this year (including Grammys and Golden Globes) as far as I can tell. I don’t see why this will change anytime soon at the Oscars. In this particular interview MG talks about keeping the "movie theme" alive and how he implemented it in Up.

Check out the video interview below:

This isn’t Michael’s first time being nominated for the Oscars; he previously got a nod for Ratatouille. I wish him the best of luck this year. In fact, everyone mentioned in this post deserves a big congratulation for the noms!

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will be presented live on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 on ABC! Keep it here for Pixar centric coverage.