Chris Hansen questioned Hollywood’s motives for making “Primetime” — an upcoming movie dramatizing the journalist’s time as the host of NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” — during a podcast interview on Monday.
The 66-year-old Hansen revealed that he was not heavily consulted during the creative process, despite having “heard that this was in the works.”
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“A couple months ago, they came and said, ‘Hey look, we’re doing this, we’d like you to have some sort of consideration in terms of helping us with this,'” Hansen said during a Monday interview on “SERIALOUSLY” with podcaster Annie Elise. “My suspicion is that they used my name because it helps in a commercial enterprise.”
Hansen told Elise that he wasn’t going to judge the film before he actually sees it.
“Until I see the full movie, as a reporter, it’s sort of silly for me to talk about something that I haven’t seen yet,” he added, though he noted that the film’s trailer looks “very dramatic.”
Hansen continued, “I know [Robert Pattinson] is a very popular actor, and I know the director [Lance Oppenheim] is a popular guy. I also have some questions: What’s Hollywood’s motive here?”
Chris Hansen appearing on the “SERIALOUSLY” podcast to discuss the upcoming A24 film “Primetime.” Youtube/SERIALOUSLY
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Hansen admitted that had he been afforded the opportunity to choose who would play him in the film, he wouldn’t have chosen 40-year-old Pattinson.
“Obviously they want a commercial endeavor to succeed and they think this is the way it’s going to succeed; I didn’t get to choose my own guy,” he shared.
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Hansen also said he crafted his own script years ago and shared that he would’ve cast “Rescue Me” actor Denis Leary to star as him “depending on the age of it all.”
A24 has arranged a private screening for Hansen, allowing him to evaluate the film and give his verdict. The screening is arranged for the “next week or so,” according to Hansen.
In the meantime, Hansen said he’s been busy focusing on being the “real” version of himself.
“So I don’t have a lot of time to focus on the fake Chris Hansen in the movie,” he added.
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A24, the film’s distributor, didn’t immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Hansen hosted the Dateline NBC segment “To Catch a Predator” from 2004 to 2007. The hidden-camera show, which documented adult men arriving at sting houses to meet up with underage minors, was canceled by NBC in 2007 following a legal fallout after a man died by suicide during a 2006 Texas sting.
“Primetime,” which also stars Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo and Bokeem Woodbine, hits theaters on Sep. 25. Watch Hansen’s interview below. Skip to the 54:31 mark to hear his comments about “Primetime.”
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