Chris Hansen Buys Ads Before Every Screening of A24’s new Biopic ‘Primetime’ Staring Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson plays the former ‘Dateline NBC’ correspondent in the September 25 release. The real Hansen is using the film’s own screens to promote his own network.

Moviegoers who show up to see Robert Pattinson play Chris Hansen in Primetime will encounter the real Hansen first. Hansen has purchased preshow advertising on every screen showing the upcoming A24 release. In the spot, he directs audiences to TruBlu, his streaming network devoted to the same kind of predator investigations that made him a household name on Dateline NBC.

Primetime opens September 25, following its world premiere September 5 at the Venice Film Festival. Lance Oppenheim directs from a script by Ajon Singh, based on Luke Dittrich’s 2007 Esquire article “Tonight on Dateline, This Man Will Die.” Pattinson stars alongside Phoebe Bridgers, Merritt Wever, Sean Bridgers, and Skyler Gisondo. Pattinson also produces, alongside Fred Berger, Tyler Campellone, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Lars Knudsen, and Brighton McCloskey.

A Film Hansen Chose Not To See

Hansen has said, on podcasts and during an appearance on Jesse Watters’ Fox News program, that he turned down an invitation to screen the film early.

He’s described being asked to sign an agreement first. “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,” he said on the program.

He walked away without watching it. Sources close to Hansen tell THR he’s now consulting attorneys about his options following the film’s release.

The Ad Itself, And What Got Cut From It

The spot places Hansen in a kitchen, echoing the setting that defined his To Catch a Predator segments.

“I’m going to need everyone in the theater to take a seat right over there,” he says, before pivoting to the pitch: “Now there are more platforms than ever before where this disturbing crime is being committed. Join us undercover every day on my streaming network, TruBlu.”

A QR code directs viewers to the network’s landing page.

Hansen reportedly wanted the ad to close with a line reminding audiences that Primetime offers “a Hollywood fantasy version” of what actually happened. That line was cut over concerns it could draw legal pushback from A24.

TruBlu‘s president, Shawn Rech, framed the ad buy as a straightforward business decision to Entertainment Weekly:

“We see it as an opportunity to reach a very concentrated group of people who either know Chris or are going to know some version of Chris.”

A Pattern Of Scrutiny Hansen Has Faced Before

This isn’t the first time Hansen has had to answer for the ethics of his format on someone else’s terms.

He appeared in David Osit’s documentary Predators, a media-critical look at the To Catch a Predator era, where he faced pointed questions about the show’s methods that he didn’t appear fully prepared to answer.

Primetime’s trailer has already become A24’s second-most-viewed ever, and there’s early word the film may add a second festival stop beyond Venice, though nothing has been confirmed.

What The Film Is Actually About

Primetime is a dramatization of Hansen’s investigative format, following him as he lures suspected predators into staged suburban encounters before confronting them on camera.

The film draws specifically from the case of Bill Conradt, a Texas district attorney who died by suicide in 2006 after becoming the target of one of Hansen’s televised sting operations, having allegedly attempted to solicit a minor. The case remains one of the most scrutinized moments in the show’s history, and it’s the specific incident the film is built around.

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Joanthan P. Moustakas

Jonathan P. Moustakas founded The Cinema Group in 2020 during the challenges of the pandemic, after losing the vital ability to find community in theaters and escape through the captivating magic of cinema. Feeling profoundly cut off from the vibrant film community he cherished, he sought to create a welcoming home for dedicated cinema fans while providing engaging, daily curated content that resonates with their passions. Years later, The Cinema Group has blossomed from a small collective of loyal fans into a thriving brand that reaches millions of audiences every month across a diverse array of platforms and mediums.

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