LOS ANGELES, July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Oscar(R)-winning composer Hans Zimmer, whose numerous scores include The Lion King, The Da Vinci Code and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, led a blue-ribbon panel of judges in selecting James Schafer as the grand-prize winner of Turner Classic Movies' (TCM) 8th Annual Young Film Composers Competition last night, July 25, in Los Angeles. The five finalists were announced earlier this year from more than 800 aspiring film composers who submitted entries from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France and Spain for the competition this year. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070726/CLTH151 ) In the running for the grand prize were Jaebon Hwang from New York City; Jeremy Schrepple from Los Angeles; Garth Neustadter from Appleton, Wisc.; James Schafer from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; and Edward White from London, England. Each participant scored a 90-second clip from the silent classic Beau Brummel (1924), starring John Barrymore and Mary Astor, for the final round of judging. Schafer, the grand-prize winner, received $15,000 and a chance to score a feature-length film for premiere on TCM. Runners up also received prizes, including Apple laptops and Logic Pro Software. Talent competing in TCM's 8th Annual Young Film Composers Competition were challenged to score a brief clip from Beau Brummel, matinee idol Barrymore's portrayal of the arrogant 19th-century style mogul who enjoyed life among England's upper class until he insulted his good friend, the Prince of Wales. The competition, which ran from Jan. 1, 2007 - March 31, 2007, was opened this year for the first time to participants from not only the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada but also France and Spain. Turner Classic Movies, currently seen in more than 75 million homes, is a 24-hour cable network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company. TCM presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from the largest film library in the world, the combined Time Warner and Turner film libraries, from the '20s through the '90s, commercial-free and without interruption. The network also offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials, including the Emmy-winning Stardust: The Bette Davis Story, Brando and Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool. Please visit tcm.com for more information. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070726/CLTH151 DATASOURCE: Turner Classic Movies CONTACT: Sarah Hamilton, Atlanta, +1-404-575-6313, , or Julie Smith, Los Angeles, +1-310-788-6915, , or Erin Bix, New York, +1-212-275-8234, , all of Turner Classic Movies Web site: http://www.tcm.com/

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