‘I love the idea of thinking big about how to change culture’: the director of Hulu’s new movie …

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‘I love the idea of thinking big about how to change culture’: the director of Hulu’s new movie Swiped on how she hopes to inspire audiences

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Lucy Buglass

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21 September 2025

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Swiped joins new movies on Hulu (Disney+ internationally) this month, and follows the life and career of Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of the dating app Bumble. We’ve picked out the movie as one of our weekend recommendations.Recently, I had the chance to sit down with the movie’s director Rachel Lee Goldenberg about Swiped covering how she decided to make a movie about Herd’s career, and working alongside the always brilliant Lily James.When asked about whether or not more apps should follow in Bumble’s footsteps, Goldenberg told me: “I love the idea of thinking big about how to change culture.

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“I think that the ambition of just trying to think of how something can be done differently or if there’s a better way to do something is exciting, whether it’s Bumble specifically or just the idea of what are problems in our culture and how can we shift those dynamics.”

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios/Hulu)Much of the movie centers around Lily James in the role of Herd. After starring in movies such as the Disney live action remake of Cinderella and the Hulu mini-series Pam & Tommy, Goldenberg told me that she felt “lucky” to have her on board for Swiped.She said: “We were just so lucky that Lily wanted to do this film, you know, I had the script and I sent it to her and she responded. She responded to the script and she responded to Whitney’s story too.”She signed on after reading the script and learning about Whitney, and then the rest of the cast was a process from there. It was really about finding people who could expand the role, and bring as much of themselves and as much depth these characters as possible, and make these roles jump off the page.”
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Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inboxSign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.While the movie is a biography, Goldenberg confirmed that they weren’t able to speak to Whitney Wolfe Herd, but she said that they’d done plenty of research to help influence the movie and the tale it was telling.”Due to legal issues, I was unable to speak to Whitney, so I took the responsibility very seriously. As much research as possible,” Goldenberg told me.She added: “My writing partner, Bill Parker, and I read every single interview, we watched every video available, we pored over the court documents, we stalked everyone’s old social media… it was a pretty extensive process to try to just have as much of the real information as we could to start.”Despite Swiped’s disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score of 38%, I encourage you to go against the critics and watch it this weekend. It’s a sometimes funny, sometimes tense look into Whitney’s world, and we’re all living in it.If you want more recommendations, don’t forget to check out our best Hulu movies article for plenty of them.You might also like’Hit them where it hurts’: Angry Disney+ and Hulu users are closing their accounts in their droves as Jimmy Kimmel cancellation saga rumbles onHere are 5 new Hulu movies to stream in September 2025, including a DreamWorks animation with 99% on Rotten TomatoesEverything new on Hulu in September 2025 – stream 79 new movies and 68 new TV shows, including Only Murders in the Building season 5 and moreToday’s best Hulu dealsGet first month fr…Hulu – Monthly (with Ads) $7.99 $9.99/mthViewat HuluGet First Month Fr…Hulu (No Ads) $18.99/mthViewat Hulu

Lucy BuglassSocial Links NavigationSenior Entertainment WriterLucy is a long-time movie and television lover who is an approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes. Sh