Robert Pattinson responds to Chris Hansen's 'Primetime' criticism: 'I hope he likes the movie'

Robert Pattinson has responded to Chris Hansen's criticism of his performance in Primetime, saying he hopes the former To Catch a Predator host will see the film as a compliment. "I would hope in some ways, like the amount of inspiration that his character has given so many people who are involved in this film," Pattinson said at the Venice Film Festival press conference on Sept. 5, according to Deadline. He added, "Obviously, I hope he likes the movie."

Pattinson stars as Hansen in the A24 thriller directed by Lance Oppenheim, which premiered at Venice to a nearly eight-minute standing ovation and holds a 93 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film, set for theatrical release on Sept. 25, follows Hansen as the Dateline NBC host who became famous for confronting suspected child predators on camera. Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers and Bokeem Woodbine also star.

Hansen, who hosted the investigative reality show from 2004 to 2007, has publicly questioned the film's portrayal. "He's saying things I never said and doing things I never did, and that's not who I am," Hansen told Entertainment Tonight, according to E! News. "I'm a nice guy, except when it comes to criminals and predators. I think people should remember that it is a work of fiction, only based on real-life events."

Hansen also said he did not attend a screening of Primetime, alleging that "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," according to The Hollywood Reporter. He did, however, credit Pattinson's imitation: "Obviously, he has practiced imitating me, and while I think it's overly dramatic, I think there is a pretty good imitation there in the trailer."

Pattinson elaborated on what drew him to the role. "There's something electrifying about him," he said, per E! News. "I watched the show when I was younger and didn't think about it. There's a strange alchemy—something he's doing is the reason people are still talking about that show 20 years later. It's not to do solely with the subject matter. It was something about the show that was groundbreaking, but then he's someone centering it."

Critics have largely praised Pattinson's performance. The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney wrote that Pattinson is "equal parts cracked and chilling as host Chris Hansen, portraying him as a ruthless ratings hunter with a grandiosity complex and a chip on his shoulder because he's not Stone Phillips." The Playlist's Marshall Shaffer called it the "most locked-in performance of its kind since Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler," while BBC's Nicholas Barber said it is "the best performance yet from the most intriguing actor of his generation."

To Catch a Predator drew over 6 million viewers per episode at its peak, but the franchise was discontinued amid controversy, including the 2006 suicide of Texas assistant district attorney William Conradt Jr. after being discovered by the sting crew. Conradt's sister later filed a $109 million lawsuit against NBC, which settled for an undisclosed amount in 2008. Hansen parted ways with NBC in 2013 and now hosts the podcast Predators I've Caught.