As Chris Hansen gets the A24 treatment with Primetime, he’s keeping an open mind.
The former host of To Catch a Predator recently confirmed he’s “going to see” the Lance Oppenheim-helmed thriller, which stars Robert Pattinson as Hansen, after the film’s team invited him to a private screening.
“We had heard that this was in the works. A couple months ago, they came out and said, ‘Hey, look, we’re doing this. We’d like you to have some sort of consideration in terms of helping us with this.’ I haven’t seen it,” he said on the Serialously podcast. “I’m going to get a private screening in the next week or so and then I’ll be able to tell you whether I like it or don’t like it, and how dramatized it is.”
Hansen added, “My suspicion is that they used my name because it helps in a commercial enterprise. And until I see the full movie, I as a reporter—it’s sort of silly for me to talk about something that I haven’t seen yet. So, I’m going to see it.”
Noting he’s “seen the trailer” for the Ajon Singh-penned film, Hansen said it “looks very dramatic.”
“But again, I’ve been busy being the real Chris Hansen, so I don’t have a lot of time to focus on the fake Chris Hansen,” he said of Pattinson. “I know that he’s a very popular actor. I know that the director is a popular guy, but I also have some questions. What’s Hollywood’s motive here? We don’t know, but I’ll find out and I’ll promise I’ll let you know.”
With Pattinson playing him, Hansen explained he “didn’t get to choose my own guy here,” revealing who he had in mind. “I had discussions years ago—I had crafted a script, and I thought Dennis Leary would be a good guy to play me, depending on the age of it all,” he said.
Premiering Sept. 25 in theaters, Primetime follows Chris Hansen (Pattinson) as he attempts to make television history with NBC’s To Catch a Predator (2004-’07), a hidden camera show that set up stings for adult men seeking sex from minors online.
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