The real host of *To Catch a Predator* says Hollywood never asked his permission to make *Primetime*, and he's still waiting to find out what they did with his story.
Chris Hansen, the 66-year-old broadcast journalist who spent years confronting adults suspected of sexual crimes on camera, told podcast host Annie Elise that he has not received an advanced screening of the A24 film that puts actor Robert Pattinson in his chair. Hansen said he learned the project was in the works only a couple of months ago, well after cameras had already stopped rolling.
The film, titled *Primetime* and directed by Lance Oppenheim, is scheduled to open in theaters September 25. Its cast includes Anna Faris, Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers, and Tony Revolori alongside Pattinson. Hansen told the *Serialously With Annie Elise* podcast that he plans to attend a private screening the following week, but until then, he's reserving judgment.
Hansen said people connected to the production reached out to him only after filming wrapped. He described the pitch he received:
"Hey, look, we're doing this. We'd like you to have some sort of, you know, consideration in terms of helping us with this."
He did not say whether he accepted any role in the project. But he made clear he had no hand in the production itself and offered a dry summary of his priorities.
"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."
Hansen said he suspects the filmmakers used his name for commercial reasons. He noted he didn't get to pick the actor who would portray him, adding that years ago, when he had early discussions about a possible film based on the NBC series, he thought Dennis Leary would have been a good fit.
"Obviously they want a commercial endeavor to succeed, and they think this is the way it's going to succeed, you know, I didn't get to choose my own guy."
A24's first trailer for *Primetime* has already generated heavy social media attention. Fox News reported that fans praised Pattinson's physical transformation into Hansen, with one social media user writing, "Pattinson is about to get an Oscar nomination for this. The man cannot miss." Another called the trailer "genuinely unsettling," crediting A24 with turning "one of the most memeable true-crime shows of all time" into something darker than expected.
Hansen, for his part, said he wants to see the finished product before weighing in on how dramatized it is.
"Until I see the full movie, you know, 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. Then I'll be able to tell you whether I like it or don't like it, and how dramatized it is."
The original *To Catch a Predator* aired as a segment on *Dateline NBC* from 2004 to 2007, partnering with local law enforcement and the watchdog group Perverted Justice to set up sting operations targeting adults who attempted to meet minors for sexual purposes. NBC cancelled the show in 2008.
The cancellation followed a November 2006 incident in Texas. Bill Conradt, an assistant district attorney, took his own life after police entered his home to arrest him while Hansen and his crew waited outside. The episode cast a long shadow over the program and raised questions about the ethics of blending law enforcement operations with television production.
Audiences watching the *Primetime* trailer have already wondered whether the film will address the Conradt case directly. Hansen did not say on the podcast whether the incident appears in the movie.
Hansen acknowledged he still doesn't know what Hollywood's motives are with the project, but said he intends to find out.
"You know, what's Hollywood's motive here? We don't know, but I'll find out."
A24 had not responded to a request for comment at the time of the Daily Mail's report.
If Hollywood wants to borrow a man's name and life's work for a commercial product, the least it can do is let him see the finished film before the rest of the country does.
