Chris Hansen Mulls Lawsuit Over A24 Thriller "Primetime"

Chris Hansen told SiriusXM’s The Dan Abrams Show that he has received legal counsel suggesting he could have a viable case against the A24 thriller "Primetime," which is set to open in theaters on Sept. 25. He said a lawyer with extensive entertainment experience advised him that a lawsuit was possible, but he is weighing how much time to devote to it.

"People are looking at it," Hansen said. "One guy told me, somebody who’s very, very good at all this and very entrenched in entertainment law, he said, ‘You know, you can do that, and you probably have a decent case. How much time do you want to spend doing it?'"

Hansen expressed concern that publicizing a protest could unintentionally promote the film, noting he has not yet seen it. He also raised ethical objections to the use of his name and those of his family and colleagues in a fictional work, describing the practice as exploitative.

"It feels very exploitive to me," he said. "It feels sneaky and disingenuous that they would do this and not even say, ‘This is what we’re doing.'"

The host recently bought advertising space before screenings to promote his true-crime streaming service TruBlu. After being invited to a private screening, Hansen said A24 required him to sign a restrictive non-disclosure agreement that would waive his rights to his name, image and brand. He declined to sign, and consequently was not allowed to view the film.

"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," Hansen said. "I couldn’t sign that, so they didn’t show me the film."

"Primetime" dramatizes a fictionalized version of Hansen’s work on NBC’s "To Catch a Predator" from 2004 to 2007, with Robert Pattinson portraying a character based on Hansen.