Variety Article: Why the ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Composer Spent Two Years Scoring the Revved-Up Return of ‘Transformers’

Jongnic “JB” Bontemps is a distinguished film composer whose critically acclaimed work reverberates around the world. His score for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, directed by Steven Caple Jr., a longtime collaborator of Bontemps, was recognized with the inaugural NAACP Image Award for Outstanding TV/Film Score and received a nomination for a Hollywood Music in Media Award for Sci/Action Score.  Additionally, Bontemps composed the score for the Oscar-nominated short documentary The Barber of Little Rock, directed by John Hoffman and Christine Turner, and produced by Dwayne Wade. His score for Her Fight His Name, a documentary directed by Academy Award winner Brad Bailey about Gwen Car’s life (the mother of Eric Gardner), received a 2025 New York Emmy Award. Amazon Studio’s My Name is Pauli Murray score, directed by Academy Award winners Julie Cohen and Betsey West, was nominated for a Critics Choice Award.  

 As a composer and creative collaborator, JB seamlessly blends contemporary musical elements with enduring emotional resonance. His compositions have graced notable productions such as Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Destination Wedding, Thomas Kail’s Disney+ feature film World’s Best, Netflix’s romantic comedy Wedding Season, The CW’s sci-fi series 4400, and the dramatic feature Last Night in Rozzie, directed by Sean Gannet. Notably, he established himself as the preferred composer for director Steven Caple Jr., contributing to the score to his debut feature, the coming-of-age drama The Land. Subsequently, they collaborated on the acclaimed film Creed II, for which JB provided rousing additional music.

 In addition to these projects, Jongnic has engaged in collaborations with renowned artists NAS, Erykah Badu, and Tobe Nwigwe, spanning songwriting, fashion shows, and ballets.  JB has scored dozens of features, series and video games in all genres, including the Lifetime biopic Clarke Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel, the Toni Braxton-led drama, Faith Under Fire, the Sundance selection Leimert Park produced by Charles King (Mudbound), the BET+ original series Boomerang, Arkain Austin’s vampire first person shooter Redfall and additional music for the Epix series Godfather of Harlem starring Forest Whitaker and the award winning game Call of Duty WWII.

Brooklyn born, JB learned the piano and soaked up his gospel and jazz surroundings. He studied music at Yale and later found himself at the heart of the tech industry as a software developer and entrepreneur after selling his startup to HP. He thrived there for several years, but eventually decided to pursue his deeper passion and jumped head-first into the film scoring program at USC and the Sundance Film Music Lab. He apprenticed as a programmer for numerous A-list Hollywood composers before breaking out on his own.

“Film music has to tell a story without words,” JB says. “Its job is to add depth and dimension to the images and words presented on screen. That’s what attracted me to the medium; the opportunity to really express emotion with music.”

 Currently, Jongnic’s upcoming projects include Lionsgate’s The Gates, the debut feature directed by John Burrows; Netflix’s series Boots, show-run by Andy Parker; Ken Burns’s produced Crime and Punishment documentary series for PBS, directed by longtime collaborator Lynn Novick; and ESPN’s Big Dreams, Jongnic’s fifth collaboration with director Rudy Valdez.