Chris Hansen blasts Robert Pattinson’s ‘Primetime’ as ‘bizarre’
by The Washington Times AI News Desk · The Washington TimesChris Hansen has finally watched “Primetime,” and he did not care for what he saw of himself.
The former “To Catch a Predator” host watched the A24 drama Thursday night, one day ahead of its nationwide theatrical opening Friday, capping a monthslong standoff with the studio over how his story — and Mr. Pattinson’s portrayal of him — would reach the screen. In a video filmed outside a theater, Mr. Hansen called the film “so bizarre and so in-and-out of reality,” an early verdict he plans to expand on Friday evening on his podcast, Primetime recounts.
The friction dates to August, when Mr. Hansen told Fox News he had walked away from an earlier A24 screening rather than sign the studio’s paperwork, describing it during his appearance on Jesse Watters Primetime as an attempt to make him sign away rights to his name, image and brand. A source close to the studio pushed back on that characterization, saying he was asked to sign only the standard nondisclosure agreement required of any advance audience. Speaking before he had seen the finished film, Mr. Hansen said he found Mr. Pattinson’s trailer impression “overly dramatic,” though he added that his family thought it was a fairly convincing one.
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Mr. Pattinson, who plays Mr. Hansen in the film from director Lance Oppenheim, has said he hopes the portrayal lands as flattering despite the criticism. Speaking at the film’s Venice premiere, Mr. Pattinson called Mr. Hansen’s on-camera presence “magnetic” and said he hoped the character would come across as some kind of compliment to the real-life journalist.
“Primetime,” which A24 has billed as “inspired by true events” rather than a biopic, dramatizes Mr. Hansen’s role as “To Catch a Predator” moved from a recurring “Dateline NBC” segment to its own primetime block in 2006.
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