So when he was approached by “Primetime” filmmaker Lance Oppenheim to play “Jeff Zucker” in the new A24 movie, the real Jeff Zucker couldn’t resist. Soon, “To Catch a Predator” was a phenomenon — but it also led to controversy, which the film tackles. In the film, then-NBCUniversal TV Group CEO Jeff Zucker is seen congratulating Hansen on his success.
So I need to move you, ‘To Catch a Predator’ — 9 p.m. Primetime!” Yep, he actually says the movie’s title — almost guaranteeing that he wouldn’t end up on the cutting room floor. Variety recently caught up with Zucker — who will be attending the “Primetime” premiere at the Venice Film Festival this weekend — to get the details on how he wound up playing Jeff Zucker in a major motion picture.
I did not know anything about the project, and it turns out that Lance Oppenheim, the director, went to college with my son. He was a year ahead of Andrew at Harvard, and they were friendly there. They were talking about this film that Lance was directing, and he said, “Hey, I’m doing this film, and who should I get to play your father?” And my son Andrew said, “Well, why don’t you ask my father to do it?” Lance said, “Would he do it?” And Andrew said, “I don’t know.
Ask him!” So Andrew connected us, and Lance explained what he was doing. I said, “OK, I’ll do it,” just as a lark. He sent me the pages of my scene, and he was clear with me that obviously this was, as they say, “inspired by true events.” The scene in which I play myself never happened.
It’s obviously a fictional scene. He sent me those pages and they were fine, they portrayed me as a ratings-driven network entertainment executive — pretty far from the truth, right? So, they sent me the pages, I was fine with them.
And about a year ago, I went down to New Orleans, and shot the scene with Robert Pattinson for a full day. Listen, I think I try not to take myself too seriously. It was a fun ask, and I haven’t been given that many opportunities to do a scene in a film opposite Robert Pattinson, so I figured, why not?
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