Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Chris Hansen has blasted Robert Pattinson’s new movie about him as “exploitative and predatory”.
The To Catch a Predator journalist is portrayed by Pattinson in the new A24 movie Primetime but Chris, who is described as an “intense and unhinged television host obsessed with his growing fame and vigilante sting operations” in an official synopsis for the film, is unhappy with the final result.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: “It is a complete work of fiction attached to a real name.
“Based upon what I’ve seen in the trailer and my understanding of what has been written about the film, they wanted to create something much darker and way more dramatic. I think it’s an insult to the thousands of men and women who work hard every day to protect children from predators. They turn something that is very positive, very challenging and not without risk into what is essentially a horror film.”
He went on to describe the movie as “exploitative and predatory” but insisted he has no issues with Pattinson personally.
Hansen said: “I have no issue with Robert Pattinson. I think he’s a great actor and a nice guy, and he has been very gracious in his comments about me. But they put him in a difficult position. He’s going to be asked, ‘Did you actually meet with Chris Hansen?’ And he has to explain why, as an actor portraying me, they never reached out even to have a discussion.
“I think it’s because the studio and the director didn’t want to know the truth. They had a notion of the film they wanted to create, and they wanted to benefit from the use of my name.”
Chris is now promoting the documentary, I’m Chris Hansen, from the TruBlu streaming network, which he has been working on for three years.
Meanwhile, Robert previously shared that he only agreed to star in Primetime when the project became “more esoteric and strange”.
Robert was initially attached to the project, directed by documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim, as a producer, and wasn’t keen on the idea of portraying Hansen himself.
However, as the concept for the film progressed, it became increasingly clear that Robert was actually perfect for the role.
He told The Au Review: “I think the initial draft, when I found it, almost required someone with this kind of American-dad energy – otherwise it wouldn’t have made sense. You’d want to cast someone playing against type for it to land the same way.
“As we talked about it, we started drifting into this slightly metaphysical world, where everything is a little surreal and mystical, and I thought, that’s my kind of thing.
“I like things that are more esoteric and strange.”
He added: “It moved further away from being a traditional biopic – it was never really that, even in the first draft – but the further we drifted into this strange ether the movie exists in now, the more I understood it.”
