The Lance Oppenheim film dramatizes the Dateline NBC series ‘To Catch a Predator’ without the former host’s involvement.
Robert Pattinson stars as television host Chris Hansen in A24’s new film ‘Primetime,’ now playing in theaters. Directed by Lance Oppenheim, the movie dramatizes the production of the 2000s ‘Dateline NBC’ reality series ‘To Catch a Predator,’ which ran sting operations confronting adults who set up meetings with decoys after sexually explicit online conversations with minors.
The film was adapted from a 2007 Esquire article titled ‘Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die.’ Hansen had no involvement in making the production. According to Hansen, the studio asked him to sign a restrictive agreement before allowing him to see the movie, an offer he refused.
In the film, Pattinson depicts Hansen as an eccentric, self-focused reporter looking to gain respect from his NBC colleagues. Merritt Wever plays producer Andie Bender, who runs the broadcast operation. Former NBC chief Jeff Zucker plays himself in a scene where he tells Hansen and Bender that he is moving their show into primetime to compete directly against ABC’s ‘LOST.’
The plot also tracks Dan Plumb, played by Skyler Gisondo. Plumb is a 23-year-old aspiring actor hired to pose as a 13-year-old decoy to earn a Screen Actors Guild card. Over the course of the stings, Plumb struggles over whether securing the union card justifies ruining other people’s lives. Tony Revolori also appears in the cast.
Oppenheim, who has a background in documentaries, used hidden cameras, shadows, and low-resolution visuals to reflect a pre-4K look.
‘Primetime’ runs 1 hour and 50 minutes and is rated R for disturbing sexual material, graphic nudity, some violent content, and language.
