Chris Hansen still doesn’t know how he’s presented in Primetime, the upcoming movie about his show To Catch A Predator at the peak of its mid-2000s popularity. He was supposed to attend a screening of the movie—apparently some time within the past week—but claims that “The lawyers at A24 wanted me to sign away my rights to my name, image and brand essentially, as well as any potential legal rights that would come out of the movie.” He didn’t want to do that so A24 didn’t show him the film, even though “I went all the way over there.” Of course, he was free to go.
These comments come from Hansen’s appearance on Jesse Waters Primetime on Fox News yesterday evening, according to Variety. A24 has disputed this account in both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, with sources for the studio explaining that Hansen was asked to sign a standard NDA, which is typical of audiences at preview screenings to prevent plot details from getting leaked ahead of a film’s release. (Primetime is scheduled to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the next couple of weeks before opening everywhere in late September.) Hansen maintains, however, that “this was a very restrictive agreement. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.” He says his lawyers had reviewed the paperwork before he showed up and had advised him against signing.
In an appearance on the Serialously podcast with Annie Elise that was published just three days ago, Hansen is recorded saying that he was planning to see the movie “within the next week or so,” so it appears that this incident happened pretty recently. The timing seems to be a major sticking point for Hansen, who brushes against the idea that A24 should seek his approval this far along in the process. “Well, then why didn’t you tell me about it when you started shooting the film?” he wonders. Hansen, of all people, can probably guess why.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.