Chris Hansen claimed A24 didn’t show him Robert Pattinson’s “Primetime” after he arrived for a screening, as he refused to “sign away” his rights.
“I didn’t see it,” Hansen told Fox News’ Jesse Watters during a Thursday night interview. “I was supposed to see it at 10 o’clock this morning at A24 offices. 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.”
As Hansen continued, he noted that he couldn’t bring himself to “sign that,” adding, “So they didn’t show me the film.”
“I went all the way over there,” Hansen, whose career hosting “To Catch a Predator” is dramatized in the A24 film, said. “But whose going to sign something like that?”
Per Hansen, his lawyers had already seen the document in question, describing the agreement as “very restrictive.”
“I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” he added.
However, a source with knowledge told TheWrap Thursday that Hansen was asked to sign a standard NDA a week in advance, which all preview audiences are required to sign to watch an unreleased film. TheWrap has come to understand that this NDA was meant to prevent spoilers and protect the studio’s IP, and that Hansen was not asked to “sign away” the rights to his name, image and brand.
Still, when grilled by Watters about why A24 might be worried about his reaction, Hansen quipped, “I don’t know. I haven’t seen the film. But, if you look at the trailer, obviously it’s a very dramatized version. They had told me that it’s fictionalized in many aspects. I know other people have seen it who didn’t sign an NDA, and yet they wanted me to sign it.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Hansen emphasized that he had “no financial stake in this film,” noting, “I’m just a working reporter, and I’m not learned in the sophisticated ways of Hollywood. But I find stuff out.”
Hansen reiterated that he “knew this was going on,” but said that he received “a call today” about concerns surrounding the movie.
“I get a call today saying, ‘Well, you know, everybody’s concerned. They want you to be happy with the film,’” he said. “Well, then why didn’t you tell me about it when you started shooting the film?”
Though, Hansen didn’t rule out ever seeing “Primetime,” sharing he may still “get a chance to see it.”
Watch his comments below.
Hansen’s update came three days after the veteran reporter shared on he “Serialously With Annie Elise” podcast that A24 was setting him up with a private screening.
“My suspicion is that they used my name because it helps in a commercial enterprise,” he said at the time. “And until I see the full movie, you know, I as a reporter, it’s sort of silly for me to talk about something that I haven’t seen yet. So I’m going to see it.”
“Primetime” hits theaters Sept. 25.
