Robert Pattinson reacts to Chris Hansen's ‘Primetime' casting concerns

Robert Pattinson is responding to Chris Hansen's concerns about Primetime, the new dark thriller in which the actor portrays the former To Catch a Predator host. Pattinson addressed Hansen's criticism during a press conference at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, where the film premiered. The Lance Oppenheim-directed movie follows Hansen during the rise of the popular Dateline segment. Pattinson said he hopes Hansen will eventually watch the film and view its portrayal as a reflection of the impact he had on those involved in the production. 'Obviously, I hope he likes the movie,' Pattinson said. 'You know, I never really set out to make a movie about Chris Hansen, I never really thought about it. And then I read the script and there's something electrifying about it.' He added, 'I would hope in some ways, the amount of inspiration that his character has given so many people who are involved in this film for years now, I hope it's some kind of compliment.' Hansen previously discussed the film during an appearance on Annie Elise's Serialously podcast last month, revealing that he had once considered developing a movie about his own career. He said he had worked on a script and even had an actor in mind for the role. 'I had discussions years ago about — I had crafted a script, and I thought Denis Leary would be a good guy to play me, depending on the age of it all,' Hansen said. Hansen has only seen glimpses of Pattinson's performance through the film's trailers and marketing. While he described the portrayal as a 'pretty good imitation,' he also felt it was 'overly dramatic.'