Bumble biopic 'Swiped' takes on Silicon Valley 'boys club'

By Kate Skelly

TORONTO (Reuters) - The new biopic "Swiped," starring British actor Lily James as dating app Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, takes the audience back to Silicon Valley in the early 2010s, before swiping left or right had anything to do with match-making.

Directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, the film follows Wolfe Herd's journey through a male-dominated tech industry, leading her to launch Bumble — but not before her contentious departure from rival app Tinder, which she co-founded.

"Seeing Whitney go through an experience where she starts out working within the status quo and playing into the boys club ... and then realizing what was wrong with that and being able to turn it all around and create her biggest success ... I think that's a really helpful path for all of us," Goldenberg told Reuters before the movie's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday.

Bumble, which launched in 2014, stood out from competitors by requiring women to make the first move by writing to their matches first.

Wolfe Herd was not involved in the making of the film because of a nondisclosure agreement she signed in her settlement with Tinder.

"The filmmakers and the writers drew everything from the public domain in order to tell this story," James told Reuters.

"(They) spent a lot of time developing this story to make it feel as real and deep and true to her story as we possibly could, and I loved doing the research. It was a brilliant part of the process."

Online dating apps have struggled in recent years to retain audiences, especially Gen Z users. In June, Bumble announced it would lay off nearly a third of its workforce.

"Swiped" will start streaming globally on Disney+ and Hulu on September 19.

(Reporting by Kate Skelly; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Patricia Reaney)

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