Why Chris Hansen hasn't seen the new film about 'To Catch a Predator'

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Set us as preferred Chris Hansen has not seen “Primetime,” the A24 film in which Robert Pattinson plays him, and he probably won’t anytime soon.He walked out of an Aug.

20 screening arranged for him at the studio’s Manhattan offices after refusing to sign a nondisclosure agreement, which he believed would prevent him from raising any legal objection to the way he is portrayed.But Hansen’s company has purchased preshow advertising in theaters showing “Primetime,” which opens Sept.25.

The spots promote TruBlu, the subscription streaming platform where the former “Dateline NBC” correspondent presents his current sting operations under the title “Takedown.”“It’s a movie that uses my name, image and likeness,” Hansen told The Times in a recent interview.“Why not direct people to what the real Chris Hansen is doing? Here’s where you can see it.”Moviegoers, in other words, will be asked to have a seat twice.The film revisits one of the most provocative and scrutinized franchises in the history of TV news.

“To Catch a Predator,” which ran as a periodic “Dateline” investigation from 2004 to 2007, exposed men who used online chat rooms to solicit sex with minors.It accelerated the popularity of the true crime genre while raising lasting questions over journalistic ethics.Directed by Lance Oppenheim in his narrative feature debut, “Primetime” is based on Luke Dittrich’s 2007 Esquire article “Tonight on Dateline, This Man Will Die,” about the suicide of a Texas prosecutor targeted by one of the stings.

It premieres Sept.5 at the Venice Film Festival.Hansen, 66, is ready to ride the wave of notoriety the film is bound to generate.

He is still pursuing online predators and a new generation of fans have found him on TruBlu, his YouTube page and on social media.“I’ve got to be the ...