Chris Hansen calls Primetime bizarre after finally watching Pattinson drama
Chris Hansen has finally watched Primetime, the drama in which Robert Pattinson plays him, and his first verdict is blunt.
In a short clip filmed outside a theatre, the former To Catch a Predator host called Lance Oppenheim's film "so bizarre and so in-and-out of reality," according to Variety. He went further. It was "so detached from reality or anything I've experienced then or now doing the investigations."
"I'm not sure what the point of it was," Hansen added, according to Variety. He said he will share a longer response at 7 p.m. ET on Friday on his podcast and YouTube channel, Have A Seat With Chris Hansen.
The film stars Pattinson as Hansen in 2006, at the point when To Catch a Predator moved from a segment on Dateline NBC to its own primetime slot, according to Variety. A24, the independent studio behind the film, bills it as "inspired by true events" rather than a straight biopic. It is directed by Oppenheim and runs 110 minutes, according to Variety and A24.
Hansen's trip to the cinema follows weeks of back-and-forth. He went to A24 for an early viewing in August but left without seeing the film after refusing to sign a non-disclosure agreement, a legal document that would have stopped him discussing what he saw, according to Variety. He said at the time that the company wanted him to sign away his rights as a condition of the screening, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
He had already criticised Pattinson's performance as "overly dramatic" before seeing the finished film, according to Variety. His family saw it differently. Hansen said his wife and children thought the portrayal was a "pretty good imitation."
Pattinson has answered the criticism calmly. He said he hoped "the amount of inspiration his character has given a lot of people for years is some kind of compliment," according to Variety. He had earlier said he thought Hansen could come around on the film, according to Variety.
Primetime opened in theatres this week after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it received a seven-minute ovation, according to Variety. Alongside Pattinson, the cast listed by A24 includes Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers, Matthew Maher and Bokeem Woodbine.
For viewers catching up, the exchange is unusual. The real subject has reviewed the fictional version in public, while the star has kept his reply light. Hansen's full take is next.
