Junkie XL Gets ‘Tomb Raider’ Reboot

Tom Holkenborg poses in a houndstooth checked jacket with a headset, in front of satellite dishes.

Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL)

Tom Holkenborg, the Dutch composer and DJ better known as Junkie XL, has got the score for Paramount’s feature reboot on the Laura Croft Tomb Raider franchise. The film, which stars Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl, Jason Bourne) is set for a March 2018 release. It is directed by U.S. newcomer Roar Uthaug of Norway, whose only stateside release of note was the 2015 Magnolia Pictures natural disaster flick The Wave.

Holkenborg has been around since 1993, playing in the band Nerve and producing metal albums. He launched Junkie XL in 1997, DJing in Los Angeles and around the world. He started performing songs and providing additional music to movies in the early 2000s, but it wasn’t until 2006 an Dimension Films’ mixed martial arts actioner DOA: Dead or Alive that he got his first solo composer credit in a motion picture.

Getting his foot in the door with Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control helped him land numerous contribution credits, resulting in a relationship with Warner Bros. that evolved into scores for 2014’s 300: Rise of an Empire and in 2015 Mad Max Fury Road, Black Mass and Point Break.  Other credits include Summit’s Divergent and Columbia Pictures’ The Amazing Spider-Man 2. More recently he composed Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and the August release Steven King sci-fi action adventure The Dark Tower (also for Columbia).

A multi-instrumentalist who plays keyboards, guitar, drums, violin, and bass, his DJ chops have given him the additional advantage of expertise in digital technology.  In 2008, he was nominated for a Grammy for Best Remixed Recording (Non-Classical) for his work on Madonna’s “4 Minutes”. His remix of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation” has gone to No. 1 in 24 countries.

Holkenborg  debuted Junkie XL in 1997 with the album Saturday Teenage Kick, and went on to produce five more albums under the moniker while parlaying his DJ career. He has also created the music for videogames, including “Need for Speed,” “The Sims” and “SSX,” as well as commercials for global campaigns for Nike, Heineken, Adidas, Cadillac and VISA.

He is represented by William Morris Endeavor’s Amos Newman.

One Response to "Junkie XL Gets ‘Tomb Raider’ Reboot"

  1. Pingback: Inside Studio Holkenborg with Billboard | MaxTheTrax

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