Oscar-Winning Composer of ‘Finding Neverland’ Music, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, Dies at Age 71 

Jan. A.P. Kaczmarek poses with the Oscar for best original score for his work on "Finding Neverland" during the 77th Academy Awards, Feb. 27, 2005, in Los Angeles. (AP)
Jan. A.P. Kaczmarek poses with the Oscar for best original score for his work on "Finding Neverland" during the 77th Academy Awards, Feb. 27, 2005, in Los Angeles. (AP)
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Oscar-Winning Composer of ‘Finding Neverland’ Music, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, Dies at Age 71 

Jan. A.P. Kaczmarek poses with the Oscar for best original score for his work on "Finding Neverland" during the 77th Academy Awards, Feb. 27, 2005, in Los Angeles. (AP)
Jan. A.P. Kaczmarek poses with the Oscar for best original score for his work on "Finding Neverland" during the 77th Academy Awards, Feb. 27, 2005, in Los Angeles. (AP)

Polish composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, who won a 2005 Oscar for the musical score of “Finding Neverland,” died Tuesday. He was 71.

Kaczmarek’s death was announced by Poland’s Music Foundation which had been informed of his passing by the composer’s wife. Kaczmarek had suffered from MSA, a rare degenerative neurological disorder.

He authored music for movies made in Europe and Hollywood, like the 1995 “Total Eclipse” with Leonardo DiCaprio, and the 2002 “Unfaithful” with Richard Gere and Diane Lane.

Global fame came when he won the Oscar for Best Original Score in the biographic fantasy “Finding Neverland” inspired by the life of J.M. Barrie, with Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet.

Born in Poland in 1953, Kaczmarek wanted to be a diplomat and studied law, but a brief association with the avant-garde theater of Jerzy Grotowski set him on the musical career.

In 1989, he settled in Los Angeles, but toward the end of his life lived in Krakow in southern Poland.

He is survived by his second wife Aleksandra Twardowska-Kaczmarek and five children.



‘The Institute’: Stephen King’s New TV Thriller Premieres in London

Author and screenwriter Stephen King appears at the premiere of "The Life of Chuck" during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Sept. 6, 2024. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
Author and screenwriter Stephen King appears at the premiere of "The Life of Chuck" during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Sept. 6, 2024. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
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‘The Institute’: Stephen King’s New TV Thriller Premieres in London

Author and screenwriter Stephen King appears at the premiere of "The Life of Chuck" during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Sept. 6, 2024. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
Author and screenwriter Stephen King appears at the premiere of "The Life of Chuck" during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Sept. 6, 2024. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

American writer Stephen King and director Jack Bender have joined forces again for a new TV thriller "The Institute", which premiered in London on Thursday.

Based on King’s best-selling 2019 novel by the same name, Bender said after working together on shows such as crime drama "Mr. Mercedes" and sci-fi show "Under the Dome" they were keen to find a new project.

"This show is about the power of youth coming together to rectify the world that all of us adults have screwed up a little bit," Bender said.

As well as directing, Bender, along with King has an executive producer credit on the show, as does Ben Cavell, who also wrote the small screen adaptation.

Joe Freeman, in his first major role, stars as Luke Ellis, a teenager with unusual abilities, who is kidnapped and taken to "The Institution," a facility full of trapped kids with psychological powers.

"He's never acted and he's remarkable .... The minute I saw him on tape, it was: 'Oh, my God, this kid is it. He's so real,'" Bender said of 19-year-old Freeman, the son of actor Martin Freeman.

Asked if his dad, known for "The Hobbit" franchise and "Sherlock" had given him any advice, Joe Freeman said it was not to take anything for granted, as "the job (of an actor) is 99% rejection."

Freeman stars alongside Emmy award winner Mary-Louise Parker as Ms. Sigsby, who runs the institution and Ben Barnes, who plays an ex-cop whose life becomes intertwined with the facility.

"It's a sort of... a slow simmering sort of horrifying thriller rather than a horror," Barnes said.

While the first series covers the book, there are plans to continue.

"We certainly intend to tell much more story... if there's an appetite for it, we will absolutely continue this story because these characters, these actors, this crew... it all feels too good to leave behind," Cavell said.