Chris Hansen Calls A24's 'Primetime' Bizarre After Finally Seeing It

Chris Hansen has finally seen Primetime, the A24 film in which Robert Pattinson portrays him, and his verdict is far from glowing. In comments reported by Deadline, Hansen described the movie as bizarre and detached from reality.

Directed by Lance Oppenheim, Primetime is currently in theaters. The film is based on an Esquire article about Hansen titled "Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die" and depicts Hansen making television history with NBC's To Catch a Predator.

Hansen acknowledged that his perspective is hardly neutral. "I'm not objective because the character is him," he said, noting the obvious difficulty of watching a version of himself on screen.

Pattinson, speaking at the Venice Film Festival premiere, said he hopes Hansen sees the film as a compliment. Hansen's reaction so far suggests he is not quite there yet.

The path to Hansen's viewing was not smooth. He said he was asked to sign a restrictive agreement for an advanced screening, refused to sign an NDA, and was therefore not allowed to screen the film early. He previously considered legal action regarding the project and bought ad space before screenings to promote his streaming network, TruBlu.