Robert Pattinson Wants Chris Hansen to Like ‘Primetime’ Despite His Criticisms: ‘I Hope the Inspiration His Character Has Given Is Some Kind of Compliment’

Robert Pattinson wants Chris Hansen to like “Primetime,” a tense thriller about the television journalist and “To Catch a Predator” host, which premieres on Saturday afternoon at the Venice Film Festival. The real-life Hansen has been vocal in his skepticism of the movie, which he said he hasn’t seen because he declined to sign a standard NDA from the studio, A24. But Hansen said that based on the trailer, he finds Pattinson’s portrayal “overly dramatic” and questioned Hollywood’s motives in dramatizing the popular Dateline NBC series about child predators. (However, Hansen admitted that his family “seem to think it’s a pretty good imitation.”) “Obviously, I hope he likes the movie,” Pattinson said on Saturday’s Venice Film Festival press conference.

I would hope the amount of inspiration his character has given a lot of people for years is some kind of compliment.” Directed by Lance Oppenheim in his narrative feature debut, “Primetime” is set in the mid-2000s and follows Hansen, then the host of Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator,” as he turns the pursuit of suspected child predators into primetime entertainment. Loosely based on the 2007 “Esquire” article “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die,” the movie exposes the ethical limits of Hansen’s methods and the collision between journalism, policing and entertainment. I watched the show when I was younger and didn’t think about it,” Pattinson said.

It’s not to do solely with the subject matter. It was something about the show that was groundbreaking, but then he’s someone centering it. There’s something, even after watching literally thousands of hours of it, you can’t put your finger on it.” Pattinson was joined at Saturday’s press conference by Oppenheim and co-stars Skyler Gisondo, Merritt Wever and Phoebe Bridgers.

Pattinson praised Bridgers, the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter who makes her acting debut as a decoy in “Primetime.” “She’s unbelievable,” Pattinson said. When he suggested her, I was like ‘Phoebe Bridgers? Why don’t we get the Queen?’ Even on the first day, she was so relaxed.

She didn’t seem nervous at all. She completely got the tone, and it’s a relatively difficult movie.” Bridgers, for her part, described the filming process as “super intimidating.” “When Lance asked me, I was like, ‘No way, dude,'” she recalled. I thought I was going to wither with all of these guys.

Instead, it was just fun and free.” Oppenheim, 30, is best known for documentaries like “Some Kind of Heaven,” “Spermworld” and the HBO series “Ren Faire.” He remembers discovering “To Catch a Predator,” not through the show itself but through parodies on “South Park” and comedy website Ebaum’s World. He’s described “Primetime” as a “docu-fantasia.” “When I finally saw ‘To Catch a Predator,’ I was amazed,” Oppenheim said. But instead of ‘Say hello to my little friend,’ it was ”You see how this looks, right?’ I was always fascinated by the theatricality of the show.