Chris Hansen Considers Legal Action Over ‘Primetime’ Depiction: “It Feels Very Exploitive”

While Chris Hansen intended to keep an open mind about A24‘s Primetime, he’s also apparently open to legal action. The former To Catch a Predator host recently revealed he was given some legal advice that he could have “a decent case” against the Lance Oppenheim-helmed thriller, which premieres Sept. 25 in theaters, but he doesn’t want to give the movie free publicity. “People are looking at it,” he said on SiriusXM’s The Dan Abrams Show. “I don’t know. One guy told me, somebody who’s very, very good at all this and very entrenched in entertainment law, he said, ‘You know, you can do that, and you probably have a decent case. How much time do you want to spend doing it?'” Hansen continued, “And the thought process here is that, if you protest it too much, do they turn it into a promotional situation where, ‘this is the movie Chris Hansen doesn’t want you to see.’ Well, in reality, it’s the movie Chris Hansen hasn’t even seen yet, so it’s a hard question to answer.” Watch on Deadline With Robert Pattinson portraying him in the film, Hansen explained his “ethical” issues with the use of his name and the names of his colleagues and family members for a movie that he presumes to be “fiction.” Robert Pattinson in ‘Primetime’ Video screen capture “It feels very exploitive to me,” added Hansen. “It feels sneaky and disingenuous to me that they would do this and not even say, ‘This is what we’re doing.'” Hansen’s latest comments come after he purchased ad space before upcoming screenings of the film 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 week on Fox News, claiming he was asked to sign “a very restrictive agreement” to attend the advanced screening. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” he said. “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,” added Hansen. “I couldn’t sign that, so they didn’t show me the film. I went all the way over there.” 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. Premiering Sept. 25 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.