File this under stories we didn’t expect to see today from the Apple TV+ universe. Jony Ive appears to be making his first public collaboration with Apple since retiring from VP of design three years ago. Meanwhile, the fictional dating app from “Ted Lasso” season two is about to be real.
Jony Ive, executive producer
Remember Jony Ive, Apple’s famed designer responsible for everything from the look of the iPhone to iOS 7? After leaving the company in 2019, Ive founded his own design firm called LoveFrom. Apple was a client, and Ive was credited in part for the new iMac design. Still, there was never a definitive public collaboration and the arrangement recently ended.
Now Ive appears to be adding the role of executive producer to his list of post-Apple jobs, not unlike frenemy and former colleague Scott Forstall. Apple credits Ive as a producer alongside Woody Harrelson for the upcoming TV+ animated film:
Matthew Freud presents a Charlie Mackesy film, produced by Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee Cara Speller (“Love, Death & Robots,” “Pear Cider and Cigarettes,” “Rocket & Groot”) of NoneMore Productions and Emmy Award winner J.J. Abrams and Hannah Minghella of Bad Robot Productions. Directed by Peter Baynton (“The Tiger Who Came To Tea”) and Charlie Mackesy, the film is adapted from the original book in collaboration with Jon Croker (“Paddington 2”). The film is executive produced by Jony Ive and Academy Award nominee Woody Harrelson (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”). Original score by composer Isobel Waller-Bridge, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and conducted by Geoff Alexander.
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” is based on a book of the same name and will debut this Christmas. Unless there’s another Jony Ive running around Hollywood, it appears Ive and friend Woody Harrelson (who attended Jony’s Christmas tree unveiling) are backing the J.J. Abrams-involved project. (Ive influenced the design of a lightsaber used in J.J.’s first Star Wars film as well.)
Bantr on Bumble
Meanwhile, and I realize that word is doing a lot of work here, the fictional dating app from the second season of “Ted Lasso” is coming to life through a partnership with the actual dating app Bumble. No, seriously, we’re not kidding:
In Ted Lasso, Bantr requires users to chat without seeing any photos of each other so that they can create a connection solely based on their conversations. To celebrate the Emmy Award-winning comedy—and to bring an exciting new dating journey to our community—Bumble is bringing a Bantr experience to life.
Bantr Live, as the new Bumble feature is called, will go live on October 13, with registration opening tomorrow. The Lasso-inspired feature will be available every Thursday at 7 p.m. local time for Bumblers through 2022. Honestly, how strange is dating in 2022? Anyway, do or don’t let us know how your experience goes in the comments!
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