Chris Hansen’s Story Gets a Hollywood Spin
Chris Hansen, famous for his work confronting alleged child predators on “To Catch a Predator,” is now the subject of a Hollywood film that presents his narrative in an unexpected light.
In the upcoming film “Primetime,” actor Robert Pattinson takes on the role of Hansen, but the portrayal seems to suggest that Hansen, rather than being a hero, is depicted as the predator. This certainly raised eyebrows.
Hosts Stu Burguiere and Dave Landau from BlazeTV shared their thoughts on the film’s approach. They expressed frustration, particularly since Hollywood itself has faced numerous accusations regarding predatory behavior. As Dave pointed out, it feels strange that, amidst all these controversies, they would create a film where the individual working against predators is framed as the antagonist.
He remarked, “It’s odd because Hollywood’s like, you know, we’re the industry falling apart because we’re, you know, the industry that’s been accused of pedophilia and grooming. So what we should do is make a movie about Chris Hansen where the pedophiles are the good guys.”
Stu echoed this sentiment, suggesting that it’s perplexing to think a country would make the person arresting predators out to be the villain. “I mean, how does that make sense?” he questioned.
Landau also shared some personal experiences, saying he had met Hansen twice and found him to be genuinely invested in his work.
Interestingly, Hansen himself isn’t pleased with the film. In an interview, he acknowledged that while he may not be the most objective reviewer of his own story, he criticized the film for being “pure fiction,” noting that the creators used his name, image, and likeness without his consent. He added, “At the end of the day, I wasn’t blown away by it either way. It’s a movie, and I’ll continue to do the work I do, and people can watch this movie and make up their own minds.”
A recent article in the Washington Post also explored the film’s portrayal of Hansen, which prompted a chuckle from Stu when he pointed out Hansen’s clear stance on whether he is a predator. “No,” echoed Stu, as if the answer was self-evident. “It’s easy to detect because he was the one putting predators into prison.”
Dave agreed, stating that Hansen’s efforts to identify and capture predators demonstrate he is absolutely not one himself. “Yes, that’s how you know he wasn’t the predator,” he remarked.
However, there’s a sense of contradiction in the film’s narrative; it presents the idea that Hansen was, perhaps, exploiting the predicaments of those he was exposing for his own gain. Stu noted that while there might be some truth to that story arc—after all, every television personality might be concerned with ratings—it’s troubling to imply that a “weird sexual thing” somehow justifies acting on those desires, especially when it involves minors. “That’s not okay,” he concluded.
