“Primetime,” a thriller starring Robert Pattinson as “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen, made its debut at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday to an enthusiastic seven-minute ovation.
Venice went fully in for Pattinson’s immersive performance as Hansen, the “Dateline” journalist and host who sets out to make television history with “To Catch a Predator.” And one of the biggest fans in attendance? Pattinson’s partner Suki Waterhouse, who cheered perhaps loudest during the seven-minute standing ovation and leaned forward and kissed Pattinson on the lips as the crowd applauded his tour-de-force performance. (In Venice, actors are seated in the front row of the balcony and their partners must sit a row behind them.) As the ovation stretched into its sixth minute, the audience began chanting for director Lance Oppenheim and singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, who makes her acting debut in the film. Skyler Gisondo and Merritt Wever also star.
Based on Luke Dittrich’s 2007 Esquire article “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die,” “Primetime” follows the production of the popular series, in which Hansen attempted to confront child sexual predators in complex sting operations.
Massive crowds outside the Palazzo del Cinema were chanting “Robert! Robert! Robert!” as they baked in the sun on a brutally hot Saturday afternoon. Pattinson, Gisando and Bridgers dutifully signed autographs and posed for tons of selfies with fans while Waterhouse made small talk with producers off to the side of the action. Pattinson dabbed the sweat off his forehead with napkins before posing for a cast photo. Former NBC chief Jeff Zucker, who appears in the movie as himself, also walked the red carpet, as did producer Ari Aster.
“Primetime” marks Oppenheim’s feature debut, having previously helmed acclaimed documentaries such as “Some Kind of Heaven” and HBO’s “Ren Faire.” A24 will release “Primetime” in theaters on Sept. 25.
Hansen has been vocal in his criticisms about “Primetime,” saying he wasn’t involved in the creative process and hadn’t seen the movie. He called Pattinson’s portrayal “overly dramatic” and questioned the studio’s “motive” in dramatizing the making of the hit reality series. Hansen has also stressed that “Primetime” isn’t a literal account of his career and that he wasn’t consulted during the making of the movie.
“He’s saying things I never said and doing things I never did, and that’s not who I am. I’m a nice guy, except when it comes to criminals and predators,” Hansen previously said. “I think people should remember that it is a work of fiction, only based on real-life events.”
At a press conference earlier on Saturday, Pattinson suggested that Hansen could come around once he sees the film. “Obviously, I hope he likes the movie,” Pattinson said. “There’s something electrifying about him. I would hope the amount of inspiration his character has given a lot of people for years is some kind of compliment.”
“Primetime” continues a banner year for Pattinson, who stars in such high-profile films as this spring’s indie hit “The Drama,” Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster “The Odyssey” and Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming tentpole “Dune: Part III.” And Pattinson’s schedule remains packed: He jetted to Lido from London, where he is currently filming “The Batman: Part II,” reprising his role as reclusive billionaire-turned-vigilante Bruce Wayne.
“When you get the momentum going, it’s strangely not that hard,” Pattinson said at the presser. Plus, he joked, “I just had a baby. I had no desire to go out at night. So suddenly I had twice as much time, which was helpful.”
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