Chris Hansen Brings in Lawyers Over Robert Pattinson’s ‘Primetime,’ Floats ‘Identity Theft’ Theory
Chris Hansen has retained lawyers to examine whether he has legal options over “Primetime,” the new A24 film starring Robert Pattinson as a fictionalized version of the former “Dateline” correspondent behind “To Catch a Predator.”
No lawsuit has been filed, and Hansen has yet to see the finished movie, but he has raised questions about possible claims beyond defamation, which he acknowledged would be difficult to pursue as a public figure.
“Are there other, more creative legal theories that could hold them accountable? Maybe. Is it identity theft? What separates this from identity theft?” Hansen told The Hollywood Reporter.
He also questioned whether filmmakers should be able to build a commercial project around another person’s name and image without their cooperation, though he stopped short of identifying a specific claim he intends to pursue.
The issue would likely fall closer to right of publicity or misappropriation than identity theft if it reaches court. Those claims can protect against unauthorized commercial use of a person’s identity, although films and other expressive works also receive broad First Amendment protection.
“Primetime” premiered last week at the Venice Film Festival, bringing renewed attention to a project Hansen has criticized despite not yet seeing it.
Directed by Lance Oppenheim, the film draws from the rise of “To Catch a Predator,” the NBC “Dateline” investigations Hansen hosted in the 2000s. Pattinson plays the Hansen-inspired lead and also serves as one of the film’s producers.
The story focuses in part on a 2006 Texas sting that ended with the death of Rockwall County assistant district attorney Bill Conradt Jr., one of the most controversial episodes connected to “To Catch a Predator.” The incident was later examined in an Esquire article that became source material for the screenplay.
Much of Hansen’s objection centers on how the project was developed without his involvement and how closely the fictionalized story draws from his career.
He described the filmmakers’ approach as “sneaky and somewhat disingenuous,” particularly because the production did not involve him while the project was being developed.
“To come to you at the last minute and say, ‘We’ve done this, and we didn’t feel that we had to come to you to discuss it,’ seems sneaky and somewhat disingenuous, especially because the project is so largely a work of fiction,” he said.
Hansen has also pointed to former NBCUniversal executive Jeff Zucker’s participation in the movie. Zucker plays himself, appearing as the network executive pushing Pattinson’s version of Hansen to capitalize on the success of “To Catch a Predator.”
Zucker spoke with Oppenheim about the period before agreeing to appear and has since said he enjoyed the finished film. Hansen has questioned why a former NBC executive was brought into the production while he was not.
The production later invited Hansen to A24’s Manhattan offices for an advance screening of the film, but he left without watching it after being asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
Hansen said he was willing to keep details of the movie confidential but objected to signing the formal NDA. The two sides did not reach an agreement, leaving him to wait for the public release before seeing the finished film.
A24 has maintained that Hansen’s permission was not required to make “Primetime” and has described the project as a dramatization inspired by true events.
Any legal challenge would face the protections filmmakers generally receive when portraying or fictionalizing real people in expressive works. Hansen’s attorneys would have to identify a viable claim based on how his identity was used, rather than simply the fact that the movie was made without his approval.
Hansen has also objected to how the film appears to portray the work behind “To Catch a Predator.” Based on what he has learned about the movie, he believes the production turns investigations he considered serious public-interest reporting into entertainment resembling a horror film.
Asked how he would react if Pattinson received an Oscar nomination for the performance, Hansen said he would view it as an insult to people who work to protect children from predators.
He also took aim at Hollywood more broadly, questioning what he sees as the contradiction of the entertainment industry profiting from the story. Hansen invoked disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein while describing the film industry as capable of celebrating a dark portrayal without reckoning with its own history.
His criticism is directed primarily at the production rather than Pattinson personally. Hansen has described Pattinson as a talented actor and said he has “no issue” with him.
Pattinson has taken a similarly restrained approach to the dispute. He has said “Primetime” was not intended as an indictment of Hansen and has expressed hope that Hansen will eventually watch it.
Hansen’s criticism of projects revisiting “To Catch a Predator” predates “Primetime.” He previously objected to aspects of the documentary “Predators,” including its decision to feature a sociologist questioning whether the original NBC investigations treated the men caught in the stings too harshly.
There is another twist to Hansen’s fight with the new film. His company has purchased preshow advertising for TruBlu, his current true-crime streaming platform, in theaters showing “Primetime.” Hansen continues to conduct sting investigations through “Takedown with Chris Hansen” on the service.
That means moviegoers attending a fictionalized version of Hansen’s career could first see an advertisement directing them to his current work.
Whether the dispute ultimately reaches court remains unresolved. Hansen plans to watch the finished film once it becomes publicly available before deciding whether his attorneys have grounds to take the matter further.
“Primetime,” which also stars Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo and Phoebe Bridgers, opens in U.S. theaters through A24 on September 25.
