Michael Giacchino won his first Academy Award last night. The Oscar for ‘Best Original Score’ went to his widely acclaimed score for the Pixar hit Up, a score that previously has been awarded the Golden Globe, the BAFTA and a Grammy among many other honours. Giacchino spoke about the dream coming true in his acceptance speech, saying to the “kid out there who do not have a support system” that “if you want to be creative, go out there and do it. It is not a waste of time.”

Ryan Bingham and T. Bone Burnett took home the ‘Best Original Song’ Oscar with “The Weary Kind” from Crazy Heart. The score from the same film was never in competition as it had been ruled ineligible.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed this year’s Oscar nominations. No big surprises in the Best Original Score category, where Michael Giacchino’s Golden Globe-nominated score for Up was joined by Hans Zimmer’s Sherlock Holmes, Marco Beltrami’s and Buck Sanders’ The Hurt Locker, Alexandre Desplat’s Fantastic Mr. Fox and, of course, James Horner’s Avatar.

The Golden Globe nominations for the 2010 awards were revealed yesterday, and the score category was a mix of surprises and “usual suspects”. Veterans James Horner and Marvin Hamlisch were nominated for Avatar and The Informant respectively, fan favorite Michael Giacchino for Up and newcomer Abel Korzeniowski for A Single Man (Korzeniowski only just had his big break in the business with the big orchestral score for animated feature Battle for Terra). Also nominated are Karen O. and Carter Burwell for Where the Wild Things Are.

An extensive radio interview with composer James Horner on his score for James Cameron’s Avatar is now available for streaming and download at Film Music Magazine. The nearly 30 minute interview is the most in-depth look at the score available so far.

Hollywood Dailies has posted a brief interview with composer James Horner, shot during the last day of scoring sessions for the much anticipated James Cameron sci-fi epic Avatar. The video features several quick glimpses of the big orchestral score, with the 56-year old Horner conducting the orchestra wearing a baseball cap. Horner says that he was allowed to work exclusively on the film for about a year and that Cameron didn’t want him to work on other projects during the time. “He did’t want me to dilute it,” Horner comments. Check it out below!