Chris Hansen has seen the trailer for Primetime, and he has thoughts.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, the former Dateline NBC host gave a measured review of Robert Pattinson's portrayal of him in the upcoming A24 film, which is inspired by Hansen's work investigating suspected child predators on To Catch a Predator.
"Obviously he has practiced imitating me, and while I think it's overly dramatic, I think there is a pretty good imitation there in the trailer," Hansen said.
His family, he added, was more enthusiastic. "It's not so much what I think; it's what other people think. And you know, my wife [and] my family seem to think it's a pretty good imitation," he said.
But Hansen drew a clear line between Pattinson's character and himself. "He's saying things I never said and doing things I never did, and that's not who I am. I'm a nice guy, except when it comes to criminals and predators," he continued. "I think people should remember that it is a work of fiction, only based on real-life events."
Hansen has been outspoken about his lack of involvement in the film. He told Fox News' Jesse Watters last week that he did not attend a screening of Primetime because, he alleged, "The lawyers at A24 wanted me to sign away my rights to my name, image and brand, essentially, as well as any potential legal rights that would come out of the movie."
"I couldn't sign that, so they didn't show me the film. I went all the way over there. … But who's going to sign something like that?" he added.
Despite being shut out of the screening, Hansen found another way into the conversation. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hansen purchased preshow advertising on every screen showing Primetime, directing moviegoers to TruBlu, his streaming network focused on predator investigations.
Pattinson's representatives did not respond to a request for comment from The Hollywood Reporter by the time of publication.
