"Have a seat."Those words were memorably said by Chris Hansen, the "Dateline NBC" correspondent who hosted the provocative reality series "To Catch a Predator" during the 2000s. Hansen, notably, had zero involvement in the making of A24's new film, "Primetime," which was adapted from a 2007 Esquire article titled "Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die." In fact, according to Hansen, the studio wanted him to sign a restrictive agreement before showing him the movie, which he refused to do.After watching "Primetime," you can see why A24 was hoping for a legal cover.Because unless you're Hansen or any other key people involved, it's difficult to know where the reality ends and where the fiction begins.‘RESIDENT EVIL’ REVIEW: DIRECTOR ZACH CREGGER DELIVERS INFECTIOUS REBOOT TO GORY VIDEO GAME FRANCHISERobert Pattinson stars as Chris Hansen in A24's "Primetime" from director Lance Oppenheim.
(Screenshot/A24)Robert Pattinson steps into the role as Hansen, a self-aggrandizing and rather eccentric journalist eying to be taken seriously by his NBC colleagues — perhaps with the success of "To Catch a Predator."If you aren't familiar, "To Catch a Predator" exposed men who believed they were meeting minors after sexually explicit online conversations.Instead, they walked into sting operations that typically ended with Hansen emerging from another room to confront them before police made arrests.The show's producer, Andie Bender (Merritt Wever) is just as essential as its star.
Her job is to keep the engine running and to make sure Hansen doesn't drift into a mental abyss.It isn't until she and Hansen are brought into the office of NBC chief Jeff Zucker (humorously played by Zucker himself), who informs them he's moving their show into primetime, giving them the daunting task of going up against ABC juggernaut "LOST" in the same time slot. 'THE DOG STARS' REVIEW: JACOB ELORDI FIGHTS FOR SURVIVAL IN RIDLEY SCOTT'S DULL POST-APOCALYPTIC WESTERNTony Revolori, Robert Patt...