There is little doubt that Primetime, the upcoming movie from A24 directed by Lance Oppenheim, is going to get people talking. The movie, which features Robert Pattinson as NBC journalist Chris Hansen, portrays the early days of the hit show To Catch a Predator, so the subject matter alone is going to make a lot of people uncomfortable. One person who already has strong views on Primetime, which hits the 2026 movie schedule on September 25th, is Hansen himself. He has not minced his words, calling the movie “an insult.”
We asked Oppenheim about Hansen’s comments, and he still wants the reporter to see the movie about his landmark show that outed child sex predators. Oppenheim says:
Well, I really wanted to see the movie, and I’m excited for him to see it.
Oppenheim also wants Hansen to know that it was the host of Predator himself who inspired Oppenheim to make the movie. It all started with a $30 Cameo video, as Oppenheim explains:
I want him to know, I guess I don’t know if he even remembers doing this, but so much of the movie comes from, like, the inspiration–how the movie even came to be–was a Cameo he had made for me almost five years ago. In the Cameo, he congratulated me for making this film I made called SpermWorld. He told me to have a seat, and then he started plugging his new investigations.
Whether that is meant to entice Hansen into seeing the film, which critics have liked, or repel him is up to you, but Oppenheim is sincere in how struck he was by Hansen selling Cameo videos. This came before he’d even been approached with the script by writer Ajon Singh. Oppenheim says about the Cameo:
I was so interested; I was fascinated by, you know, the guy I grew up with, this crusading journalist, who also was an entertainer. But in this case, had basically adopted this, like, entertaining this, this sort of strange, self-performative version of himself, almost like a man has fully become and embraced the meme. And it really stuck with me, and it almost crystallized. I bookmarked it in my head. I was like, I want to do something with that.
Again, it’s up to you to determine if Oppenheim is inviting Hansen to see the movie or not, but either way, Hansen can be a polarizing figure. To Catch a Predator is polarizing as well. That’s a big part of what makes this movie so intriguing to many, even those uncomfortable with the way it was presented.
Meanwhile, Oppenheim is also kicking up a stir with another upcoming film he co-directed (along with Nathan Fielder), You Can See Everything, about convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes, which is sure to shock audiences as well. With two movies in a row about such interesting subjects, Oppenheim has really tapped into something.
