Chris Hansen Questions Motive of Robert Pattinson’s Primetime

Chris Hansen got candidly circumspect in a Monday interview about Robert Pattinson’s upcoming A24 drama “Primetime,” which charts the former network news fixture’s time hosting “To Catch a Predator.”

Emphasizing on the “Serialously With Annie Elise” podcast that he was not at all involved in the creative process of the biopic and only learned it was happening once production was wrapped, Hansen questioned what Pattinson, director Lance Oppenheim and A24’s motive was to tell the story.

“It looks very dramatic,” Hansen teased based only on the trailer — because he hasn’t seen the movie yet.

“We had heard, you know, obviously, with all the different properties I have and all the platforms, some of the people who are involved in the management also tangentially have relationships in the Hollywood world. So we had heard that this was in the works a couple months ago,” Hansen explained. “They came out and said, ‘Hey, look, we’re doing this. We’d like you to have some sort of, you know, consideration in terms of helping us with this.’”

So A24 is setting him up with a private screening, he said — “and then I’ll be able to tell you whether I like it or don’t like it, and how dramatized it is.”

“My suspicion is that they used my name because it helps in a commercial enterprise. And until I see the full movie, you know, I as a reporter, it’s sort of silly for me to talk about something that I haven’t seen yet. So I’m going to see it.”

While it appeared in the interview that he wanted to end the subject there, Elise pressed for his thoughts on the trailer in which A-lister Pattinson appears to draw a dark, unforgiving portrait of Hansen and his motives while moving up in the ratings with the hit reality program that saw him staging meet-ups with adult men and underage teens before confronting and arresting them on camera.

“I’ve been busy being the real Chris Hansen, so I don’t have a lot of time to focus on the fake Chris Hansen,” he said. “I know that he’s a very popular actor. I know that the director is a popular guy, but I also have some questions. You know, what’s Hollywood’s motive here? We don’t know, but I’ll find out. And I promise you I’ll let you know.”

Of Pattinson’s casting in the role, Hansen reflected, “Obviously they they want a commercial endeavor to succeed, and they think this is the way it’s going to succeed. You know, I didn’t get to choose my own my own guy.”

Asked whom he would have cast had it been up to him, Hansen didn’t have anyone in mind for “Primetime,” but admitted that he had thought up a dream-casting while having discussions for a “To Catch a Predator” drama in the past.

“I had discussions years ago about — I had crafted a script, and I thought Dennis Leary would be a good guy to play me, depending on the age of it all.”

“Primetime” hits theaters Sept. 25. Watch Hansen’s full “Serialously” interview below.