movies
Inside The Ballroom As Gunfire Was Heard And Journalists Scrambled To Report
The catering staff at the Washington Hilton was just about to serve the main course — prime Chateaubriand and Maine lobster — when four loud, quick shots could be heard.
With Donald Trump making his first appearance as president, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this year looked to be an unusual mix of comedy and controversy; instead became a surreal, disorienting moment, as authorities investigate an armed man suspected of trying to break through a security checkpoint.
Sitting at a table near the cavernous ballroom’s main entrance doors, I at first thought the noise heard around 8:35 p.m. ET was of a giant clash of dishes. But within a second or two someone could be heard shouting, “Get down!”
Most near us got to the ground, and my POV was of the sight of turned over chairs, some attendees crying in fear and Secret Service agents racing into the room. For a few moments, my thought was that the agents were searching for an active mass shooter, and yet I could still hear the din of conversation in other parts of the room. And then over the span of about ten seconds, that noise gave way to a tense silence, broken by the shouts of agents and a yell of “USA. USA.”
In about two minutes, attendees started to get back up again, and it was then that cameras came out. Those around me were in a daze. Some were still in tears, not knowing what happened. With a full view of the dais, I saw that it was empty.
As I approached the stage, some correspondents were recording video or live streaming. ABC News’ Jonathan Karl was standing on stage recording a vertical. CNN staffers were huddled with CEO Mark Thompson. “Craziness man,” said FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
On TV, the moment looked surreal: The sea of attendees in ballgowns and tuxes, huddling under tables, also in the tense silence save for the shouts of Secret Service agents, rushing the president then members of the cabinet from the room.
Some attendees were in a daze, but most journalists seemed to be reporting the story out, not an easy task in a below ground space notorious for its iffy Wifi and cell service.
Other administration figures, like FBI Director Kash Patel, were whisked away to an exit in the back of the ballroom, and journalists hunted for any first-hand accounts. An officer with Watkins Security, a private firm, was surrounded by reporters as he gaggled about what he knew about what happened, which he warned was not a whole lot.
Word spread first that the suspect was dead, then that a suspect was taken into custody. Then an announcement was made that the evening would continue, then that it was being postponed.
After about an hour, CBS News’ Weijia Jiang, the White House Correspondents’ Association president, appeared on stage and gave a message from Trump. “He wanted to emphasize that no one was hurt. He and the first lady, the cabinet, everybody was safe,” she said, to applause.
“The president will be having a press briefing at the White House in 30 minutes. That is not a joke,” she said.
She said, “I said earlier tonight that journalism is a public service, because when there is an emergency, we run to the crisis, not away from it. And on a night when we are thinking about the freedoms of the First Amendment, we also must also think about how fragile they are. I saw all of you reporting, and that’s what we do.”
As guests made their exit up the escalators and to the main floor, many passed by Wolf Blitzer, an eyewitness to the shooting. He was on the phone, still reporting what he saw.
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movies
Chris Hansen Reviews Robert Pattinson ‘Primetime’ Move, Not a Fan
Former To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen was interviewed on his podcast Friday to give his unfiltered reaction to A24‘s unauthorized, dramatized film about parts of his life, Primetime, which he called overly dramatic, detached from reality, and a “fever dream” — while giving Robert Pattinson‘s performance a “D” grade.
Primetime, which opens Friday in the U.S., is set in 2006 and follows Pattinson’s fictionalized version of Hansen as the popular To Catch a Predator segment on NBC’s Dateline grows into its own primetime block on the network. On the show, Hansen blurred journalistic lines by working with law enforcement and the watchdog group Perverted Justice to intercept adult men as they arrived, unbeknownst to them, at a sting house to meet a minor they’d met online for sex. The men were typically arrested as a result. The series drew mixed reactions, with concerns about potential entrapment-law violations at the forefront of the criticism.
In a brief segment produced for his video podcast, Have a Seat with Chris Hansen, the former NBC News journalist is seen exiting a Times Square AMC after viewing the film for the first time at a Thursday night screening — his first look at the indie drama since its theatrical release. He’s then asked for his first reaction to the Lance Oppenheim-directed film.
“It’s hard for me to — obviously, I’m not a judge, because the character is based on me,” he said. “I think because the character is so detached from reality, from anything I’ve ever experienced then or now doing the investigations — I’m not sure what the point of it was.”
The rest of the podcast episode has Hansen discussing the film, its director and Pattinson’s portrayal of him with Fox News’ Jesse Watters. Hansen railed against the movie throughout.
Oppenheim has said he conceived Primetime after receiving a personalized Cameo video from the To Catch a Predator host. Hansen said on his podcast that he spoke to a mutual friend before seeing the film, and that Oppenheim told the friend it was “something to the effect of, ‘a love letter to Chris Hansen, and it gets a little weird in the storytelling.’”
Hansen also flagged inaccuracies in the fictionalized version of his life — including scenes involving Jeff Zucker and Stone Phillips that he insists never happened — and said absolutely nothing in the film was close to reality. He assured viewers he’s not the ratings-obsessed figure the script conjures. His biggest gripe, he said, is that the film portrays him as an aloof parent, which he says is far from how he relates to his kids. As for Pattinson’s take on Hansen circa 2006, Hansen had few kind words.
“He’s got work to do. I’m kind of the only guy that counts for this, right?” he said.
Days before seeing the movie, Hansen spoke with The Hollywood Reporter‘s Seth Abramovich about what he knew of the film. A24 hadn’t reached out to him or the production to explain the premise or ask for his input, he said.
“Based upon what I’ve seen in the trailer and my understanding of what’s been written about the film, they wanted to create something much darker and way more dramatic,” he said. “I think it’s an insult to the thousands of men and women who work hard every day to protect children from predators. They’ve turned something that is very positive, very challenging and not without risk into what is essentially a horror film.”
On Friday, after viewing Primetime, he doubled down with a direct swipe at Oppenheim.
“You have to question the motives of not coming forward and talking to me or anybody I’ve worked closely with over the years,” he said. “They didn’t want to hear that Chris Hansen is a good guy. They didn’t want to hear that this work is important. This director had a dark image of what he wanted to do. He wanted to create a horror-like film with interesting photography, and didn’t want to hear anything else.”
Hansen continues identifying and capturing potential child predators on Takedown with Chris Hansen. Earlier on Friday, Hansen’s TruBlu streaming network dropped the trailer for I’m Chris Hansen, a documentary centered around the host.
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movies
White House Again Blocks CNN From Covering Trump On Air Force One
The White House has blocked CNN from flying on Air Force One as the TV pool network traveling with Donald Trump on his trip to Tennessee on Saturday.
A CNN spokesperson confirmed reports that the network was pulled from its scheduled rotation providing coverage of the president.
Trump banned CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House grounds last week, but a federal judge ordered credentials reinstated on Thursday, concluding that it was a violation of due process rights.
The judge did not rule on another action by the White House: After Trump issued the ban, on Sunday the White House pulled CNN from the TV pool rotation. The other four networks in the rotation — CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox — declined to replace CNN, suspending coverage for most of the week. That meant a dearth of video images from the White House. The TV pool resumed earlier on Friday when CNN was reinstated.
Now it is being blocked again, per the network.
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movies
Chris Hansen Finally Saw ‘Primetime’, Still Not A Fan
After weeks of providing A24‘s Primetime with free press, Chris Hansen has finally seen the Lance Oppenheim-helmed thriller.
On Friday, the former To Catch a Predator host teased his reaction after catching a screening of the movie, which is now in theaters, based on Esquire‘s depiction of Hansen in the 2007 article “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die” with Robert Pattinson portraying him.
“It was so bizarre and so in-and-out of reality,” said Hansen in a video shared on X. “Obviously, I’m not objective because the character is me, but it was so detached from reality or anything I’ve experienced then or now doing the investigations. I’m not sure what the point of it was.”
At the Venice Film Festival premiere, Pattinson recently said that he hopes Hansen sees the film as “some kind of compliment” from those he’s inspired.
Meanwhile, Hansen’s official review of the film comes amid a rollercoaster of reactions he’s had to the project, including contemplating legal action and purchasing ad space before upcoming screenings of the movie to promote his true-crime streaming network TruBlu, where he continues his sting investigations.
After Hansen recently confirmed he’s “going to see” the movie, following an invite from the production team to a private screening, he appeared last month on Fox News, claiming he was asked to sign “a very restrictive agreement” to attend the advanced screening.
The form was an NDA that all preview audiences are asked to sign a week in advance to view in an unreleased film, in order to prevent spoilers and protect IP. Hansen reportedly refused to sign, and therefore, wasn’t allowed to screen the film.
Now in theaters, Primetime follows Chris Hansen (Pattinson) as he attempts to make television history with NBC’s To Catch a Predator (2004-’07), a hidden camera show that set up stings for adult men seeking sex from minors online.
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