Chris Hansen has given Robert Pattinson’s performance in Primetime a “D”, while criticising the film for presenting an exaggerated and detached version of his work on To Catch a Predator.
The former Dateline NBC journalist, who is 67, saw the film on its opening night and discussed it during an interview with Jesse Watters.
Hansen has previously said he was not consulted during the production. He also said he was asked by the studio to sign a document before being allowed to watch the film early, but chose not to do so.
“What was in it, in my mind, was something that was so overly dramatized, so detached from reality, as the director put it, a ‘fever dream,’ that almost hit me as something that was so far from reality that it wouldn’t even bother me,” Hansen said.
He described the film as “a hit piece” against him and the series, arguing that it insulted people involved in efforts to expose those who try to harm children.
Hansen was also critical of Pattinson’s portrayal, saying: “I think it’s overly dramatic, drawn out, they make him look like a character in a horror film. There’s all kinds of green hue on his face. He’s obviously having a mental breakdown.”
He added that the version of Hansen portrayed by Pattinson was “so detached, so unhinged, so dark, so unlikable” that it had upset former and current colleagues.
Chris Hansen criticises Primetime director
Hansen also condemned the approach taken by director Lance Oppenheim, claiming he wanted to make a horror-style film and was not interested in hearing positive views about the work carried out over the previous 22 years.
“Hollywood wants to demonize the guy doing what I think is very good work that has created a dialogue that didn’t exist before and an awareness that didn’t exist before,” Hansen said.
He questioned why the filmmakers had not spoken to him or people he had worked with, saying: “They didn’t want to hear that Chris Hansen is a good guy. They didn’t want to hear that this work is important.”
