Chris Hansen Says New Film About Him Is a ‘Work of Fiction’ That ‘Never Took Place’

Chris Hansen, once the host of To Catch a Predator, told Mediaite founder Dan Abrams on Wednesday that a new film about his life is a “work of fiction,” saying many of the scenes depicted in its trailer “never” happened.

The series, which aired from 2004 to 2007 as part of Dateline NBC, featured Hansen confronting men who arrived at a staged home expecting to meet minors they had communicated with online, before they were typically arrested by waiting law enforcement.

The upcoming movie, starring Robert Pattinson as Hansen, is titled Primetime. It’s set to release on Sept. 25.

Yet on Wednesday’s edition of SiriusXM’s The Dan Abrams Show, Hansen said of the film’s trailer, “It’s overly dramatic… How could they tell the story without having talked to anybody who was directly involved?”

“The conversations you heard in the trailer never took place in real life,” he added, emphasizing, though, that he hasn’t yet seen the movie in its entirety.

Hansen explained that while A24, the production company behind the film, reached out to him in May — just a day before the first trailer came out — asking him to participate in promotional efforts, he felt the move was too little too late.

He even recalled hearing from a mutual connection that the movie’s director, Lance Oppenheim, felt he didn’t need to contact the To Catch a Predator host because the movie was a “love letter to Chris Hansen.”

Abrams then asked about “potential legal concerns,” to which Hansen responded, “They didn’t have to use my name. They didn’t have to use the names of people with whom I’ve worked,” even sharing that one of his producers “was so upset the other day because [the trailer] cast her in a negative light” and showed the host yelling at his crew — allegations he denied.

Hansen stressed that he believes the filmmakers wanted to use his name because “it’s of value” and “will bring people in the theater.”

“Most people are shocked when I tell them that I had nothing to do with the movie,” he continued. “This is a work of fiction.”

Not to mention, Hansen mentioned a scene from the trailer where Jeff Zucker, the former CEO of NBC Universal, plays himself. In the clip, he tells Hansen, played by Pattinson, “I don’t like your show, but America does.”

“Never said it,” Hansen dished to Abrams. “He never said it to me, anyway.”

The former TV host went on to say he was invited to an advance screening of the film but was asked to sign a release beforehand. On the advice of his attorneys, Hansen declined to sign the NDA. When he showed up for the screening anyway, he said he was told he would not be allowed to watch the movie.

“I understand that you wanna protect your intellectual property,” Hansen said of the filmmakers. “But what about my intellectual property?”

He added, “They were sneaky and disingenuous about it,” but made clear that while headlines seem to think he’s in a “war” with A24, he just wants to see the movie with no legal strings attached.

Watch above via The Dan Abrams Show.

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