The renowned American television host and journalist Chris Hansen has missed the chance to preview a film about his life and career. We are talking, of course, about Primetime, which stars Robert Pattinson and will compete at the Venice Film Festival 2026. In fact, Hansen had gone to A24’s offices to watch the movie directed by Lance Oppenheimer, but something went awry. He recounts the incident on a Fox News talk show, saying he arrived at 10 in the morning for a private screening. Just before the lights went down, he was asked to sign a legal agreement that he described as the most absurd contract he had ever read in his 40-year career. An anonymous source claimed that it was the usual request made to anyone who sees a preview of a film not yet released, forbidding them from revealing the plot or commenting, especially on social media. Whether this is true or not, Hansen stated:
The lawyers at A24 basically asked me to relinquish the rights to my name, my image and my brain (…) I did not want to sign and therefore I did not see the film despite having come all the way there.
The journalist added that his lawyers strongly advised him not to sign and that he would not sign anything without a lawyer present. “It was a very restrictive agreement” – he concluded. “I had never seen anything like it.” Variety, which is the source of our report, notes that the agreement was likely not as onerous as the typical contract signed by journalists at premieres of titles not yet in theaters.
Some time ago Chris Hansen had said he was curious to see Primetime. Regarding the trailer, he stated that it seemed to him his life had been heavily romanticized, and now he has again explained that it was A24 that warned him that several elements of fiction had been introduced and that the film is based on real events and has never been described as a biographical film. He also clarified that he did not receive any monetary compensation nor was he consulted during the screenplay phase. Simply put, the presenter learned of the project one day:
I’m just a reporter who doesn’t learn the news through Hollywood’s refined channels, but I do learn things. I’ve been an investigative journalist for four decades, so I knew they were working on the film. They phoned me, saying: “Everyone’s worried. They want you to like the film. But then why didn’t you tell me anything when you started filming?”
At the moment Primetime does not yet have an Italian release date. Produced by Robert Pattinson, it features a supporting cast including Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers and Bokeem Woodbine. The film focuses on the years when Hansen devised and hosted To Catch a Predator, an investigative format in which, through undercover operations organized with law enforcement, adults seeking to meet minors known online were unmasked. The program, aired on Dateline NBC, ran from 2004 to 2007.
Returning to Primetime, Hansen will see himself, like any ordinary moviegoer, in a cinema, possibly after purchasing a ticket.
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