Robert Pattinson is weighing in after Chris Hansen criticized his latest “Primetime” film, which draws inspiration from Hansen’s “To Catch a Predator” series.
Pattinson addressed the matter during his appearance at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, speaking at a press conference for the Lance Oppenheim-directed A24 thriller.
“Obviously, I hope he likes the movie,” he said, according to a video posted to Instagram by People.
The “Twilight” actor, 40, who stars as Hansen in the film, added, “I never really set out to make a movie about Chris Hansen. I never really thought about it, and then I saw the script, and there’s something electrifying about it.
“I would hope, in some ways, the amount of inspiration that his character has given so many people who are involved in this for years now … I hope it’s some kind of compliment.”
Pattinson also recalled watching Hansen’s Dateline NBC series when he was younger, saying there was something “magnetic” about the journalist’s presence.
“Something he’s doing is the reason why people are still talking about that show 20 years later, and it’s not solely to do with the subject matter” he said. “I just think there was something about the show that was very groundbreaking … kind of breaking the rules of television and also, in some ways, bureaucracy.”
Even after watching what he described as “literally thousands of hours” of material related to the series, Pattinson said he “still can’t really put his finger on” what made it so popular.
According to the “Batman” star, the film instead sought to capture the filmmakers’ “collective enthusiasm” for Hansen’s mystery.
In August, Hansen revealed on the “Serialously” podcast that Pattinson would not have been his first choice to portray him if he had been able to “choose [his] own guy.”
“I always thought … I had discussions years ago, I had crafted a script … Denis Leary [would] play me, depending on the age of it all,” Hansen said at the time.
Hansen recognized Pattinson’s popularity as an actor, but admitted he still had questions about “Hollywood’s motives” for making the film.
“Obviously, they want a commercial endeavor to succeed, and they think this is the way it’s going to succeed,” he said, referring to Pattinson’s casting.
Hansen later told Page Six that he has not ruled out suing over the film, though he has yet to see it.
He attempted to attend a screening last month at A24’s New York headquarters but was turned away after declining to sign an NDA.
“When someone makes a movie about you but won’t let you see it, you do have to wonder why they won’t let you see it,” Hansen told Page Six.
He said he plans to see the film in theaters like everyone else when it hits theaters Sept. 25.
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