‘Primetime’: Robert Pattinson’s Chris Hansen drama gets seven-minute standing ovation at Venice
Robert Pattinson's new film 'Primetime', which dramatizes the making of the NBC series 'To Catch a Predator', received a seven-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. The film has drawn praise for Pattinson's performance, though the real-life subject Chris Hansen has criticized the project as a fictionalized account.
Why it matters
The film explores the ethics of reality television and the dramatization of controversial public figures, sparking debate about media responsibility.
Robert Pattinson’s Primetime received a seven-minute standing ovation following its world premiere at the 2026 Venice Film Festival on Saturday, with the crowd particularly responding to the actor’s performance as Dateline NBC journalist Chris Hansen. Pattinson’s partner Suki Waterhouse was among those cheering during the reception, which also saw the audience applaud director Lance Oppenheim and Phoebe Bridgers, who makes her acting debut in the film.
Directed by Oppenheim in his narrative feature debut, Primetime is inspired by Luke Dittrich’s 2007 Esquire article “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die” and dramatises the making of To Catch a Predator , the controversial NBC series in which Hansen confronted men accused of attempting to meet minors online. The film focuses on the machinery behind the television phenomenon and the ambitions of the people who helped turn the sting operations into prime-time entertainment.
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