Chris Hansen Ambushes Robert Pattinson Biopic Primetime by Gatecrashing Theatres To Hijack A24 Audiences

Chris Hansen has bought advertising on every US theatre screen showing 'Primetime', the A24 film about his career, turning Robert Pattinson's portrayal of him into free promotion for TruBlu, the new sting network he runs today.

The Hollywood Reporter, which obtained the spot, said it plays before every screening of the film when it opens in US theatres on 25 September. Hansen appears in a kitchen, the setting that defined 'To Catch a Predator', and tells the audience to take a seat.

Hansen's Catchphrase Returns Before the Credits

'I'm going to need everyone in the theatre to take a seat right over there,' Hansen says in the ad, reworking the line that made him famous. He then pitches TruBlu, telling viewers there are 'more platforms than ever before where this disturbing crime is being committed', before a QR code sends them to the network's landing page.

TruBlu streams the same predator investigations that built Hansen's name. The ad turns each screening of a film that scrutinises those methods into a live commercial for more of them.

An earlier version of the spot ended with Hansen calling 'Primetime' 'a Hollywood fantasy version' of events, according to The Hollywood Reporter, but that line was cut over concern about how A24 might respond.

What the Film Is Actually Built On

'Primetime', directed by Lance Oppenheim and written by Ajon Singh, is based on Luke Dittrich's 2007 Esquire article 'Tonight On Dateline, This Man Will Die'. The piece reconstructed the 2006 sting that ended with the death of Bill Conradt, a Texas assistant district attorney.

Conradt solicited a decoy posing as a minor but never travelled to the sting house. Police, along with the 'To Catch a Predator' crew, went to his home instead. As a SWAT team entered, Conradt shot himself. His death became the central argument against Hansen's blend of law enforcement, civilian volunteers, and television.

The film opens with a world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on 5 September, three weeks before its US release. Hansen is now selling his newest version of the format, ahead of a story about the format's deadliest outcome.

The NDA Standoff

Hansen has said on Fox News' 'Jesse Watters Primetime' and on podcasts that he travelled to A24's offices for a screening, then walked out after refusing to sign an agreement. He said the studio asked him to sign away rights to his name, image, and brand, along with any legal claims arising from the film.

A24 sources have described the document as a standard non-disclosure agreement given to all preview audiences, saying Hansen received it a week early and never returned it. Hansen sent part of the agreement to TMZ and, sources close to him told The Hollywood Reporter, is consulting lawyers about his options once the film is out.

A Legacy Back Under Scrutiny

The ad buy lands less than a year after 'Predators', David Osit's 2025 documentary, put Hansen on camera and pressed him on the ethics of his work.

Now Hansen is answering a film about the cost of his methods not with silence but with a sales pitch, converting the scrutiny aimed at him into an audience for his next sting.