Contract Battle Sparks Mystery: Why Chris Hansen Is Locked Out of His Own Movie Screening
Chris Hansen, the face behind the infamous To Catch a Predator, is back in the limelight—but this time not by choice. Enter Robert Pattinson, stepping into Hansen’s shoes in Primetime, a film diving headfirst into the shadowy depths of that controversial show. Now, you’d think Hansen would be champing at the bit to watch his own cinematic doppelgänger in action—but nope. Despite being invited by A24 to an exclusive screening, Hansen bailed before seeing a single frame, thanks to a baffling contract kerfuffle that sounds more like a plot twist than real life. It makes you wonder: when does the story belong to the storyteller, and when does it slip through their fingers? Add viral trailers, a real-life tragedy that rocked the show’s finale, and Hansen’s public grumbles about “signing away rights” that the studio insists is just a standard NDA, and you’ve got a Hollywood drama just as twisted as the original crime series. Ready to unpack the mess behind the movie everyone’s talking about? LEARN MORE
Chris Hansen’s upcoming portrayal by Robert Pattinson in Primetime has thrust the To Catch a Predator presenter back into the spotlight as the film is set to cover the show’s darkest moments.
Hansen has spoken out recently revealing that he was not a consultant on the movie and has not yet seen it. This was set to change however as it was announced that A24, the producers of the film, had invited Hansen to a screening of the film.
In a surprise 180 however it has now been announced by Hansen that he ended up leaving A24’s offices without having seen the film due to a unique and bizarre contract dispute.
Primetime’s most recent trailer went viral over Pattinson’s portrayal of the TV host whose show that aimed to expose paedophiles, a show that met a controversial end when a subject committed suicide.
The film is based on an Esquire story Tonight on Dateline, This Man Will Die which paints a very critical picture of the conduct of both Hansen and To Catch a Predator in the episode which led to a man’s death, however the host heavily disputes this.
Hansen claimed he was asked to ‘sign away his rights’, but a source at A24 disputes this
Chris Hansen’s claims were disputed by the studio (Mike Pont/WireImage)
The To Catch a Predator host appeared on Jesse Webber’s ironically named show Primetime, and claimed that the ‘lawyers at A24’ had tried to get him to sign a prohibitive contract in order to watch the film.
He said they ‘wanted him to sign away his rights to his name, image, and brand, as well as any potential legal rights that would come out of the movie’.
Hansen continued: “I couldn’t sign that, so they didn’t show me the film. I went all the way over there… But who’s going to sign something like that?”
According to The Hollywood Reporter however the contract was a standard Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) which everyone who watches films at early screenings is made to sign.
Hansen was asked by Waters about this NDA, questioning what the studio ‘might be worried about’, with the To Catch a Predator host replying: “I don’t know! I haven’t seen the film. If you look at the trailer, obviously it’s a very dramatized version.
“They had told me that it’s fictionalized in many aspects. I know other people have seen it who didn’t sign an NDA, and yet they wanted me to sign it.”
Fans have realised that Primetime is not likely to portray Hansen in a positive light
Robert Pattinson will star as Hansen in Primetime, a role he’s been tipped to get an Oscar nomination for (A24)
Hansen has so far been mildly critical of the film, firing digs at A24 over its portrayal of him. In his recent appearance on True Crime with Annie, he spoke about the film and the fact he was not consulted, saying: “My suspicion is they used my name because it helps in a commercial enterprise.
“I know that he’s a very popular actor, I know that the director is a popular guy.” He went on to question ‘Hollywood’s motive’ but was criticised online for calling the director Lance Oppenheim ‘popular’ when his previous experience lies mostly in documentary filmmaking.
The film is based on the show’s most controversial moment in which local Texas-based district attorney Bill Conradt shot himself after a SWAT team tried to enter his house.
In the Esquire article the film is based on it is alleged that To Catch a Predator producers said that ‘if he won’t come to us, we’ll go to him’ after Conradt stopped communicating with their decoy and refused to go to the trap house they’d set up.
One fan posted on X saying they were happy that Pattinson would finally be playing a character they could root for, with a viral tweet quoting this saying: “the funniest thing is that primetime is not going to portray chris hansen as a good guy and it’s pretty clear from the trailers.”
Primetime releases in cinemas 5 September.
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