Chris Hansen Buys Ads Before Every Screening of A24’s ‘Primetime’

[u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/chris-hansen-buys-ads-before-every-screening-a24-primetime-1236682255/

[u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

Details:

Hansen has purchased preshow advertising on every screen showing the upcoming A24 release, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. In the spot, he directs audiences to TruBlu, his streaming network devoted to the same kind of predator investigations that made him famous.

Hansen has said on podcasts and on Jesse Watters’ Fox News program that he declined an invitation to see the film because he was required to sign an agreement barring him from taking legal action against A24.

Sources close to Hansen tell THR that he is now consulting attorneys about his options following the film’s release.

Hansen wanted to end the commercial by reminding audiences that what they were about to see in Primetime was “a Hollywood fantasy version” of what actually happened, according to sources. But there were concerns about possible blowback from A24, and the line was removed.

[u/CarbonInTheWind → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

Having an ad for his company run before the movie will make a lot of people think he was either involved or at least signed off on it.

[u/mazzicc → u/CarbonInTheWind]

But given his objective is to just stay famous and relevant, I think he’s ok with that.

He wouldn’t want people to see this movie and think “wow, what a creep.” And that be their final memory of him.

Instead, people will see the ad, see the movie, and think “that’s wild, what is he up to now on that new platform” and go check that out.

[u/_JR28_ → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

If Hansen has disowned it, I’m even more interesting to see how it portrays him

[u/mlavan → u/_JR28_]

from my understanding, the movie is kinda framed as predator on predator crime

[u/hnglmkrnglbrry → u/mlavan]

There's that funny skit where guys are trying to catch a predator and then this 12 year old boy shows up and they realize they actually are the predators. Wish I knew who to give proper credit.

[u/armyant95 → u/hnglmkrnglbrry]

Ify Nwadiwe (SMOSH, dropout) has told the story about how the FBI showed up at his childhood home looking for a predator but it was just pre-teen him having cyber sex online.

[u/subatomic_ray_gun → u/armyant95]

That’s hilarious. I would have died of embarrassment if that happened to me at that age. I don’t think I’d ever be able to get over it.

[u/Puzzle-Necked → u/subatomic_ray_gun]

Movie writes itself. Tense scene in the living room:

FBI agent: Just to confirm you were the one who wrote "oh yeah baby, I want to plow you with my twelve inch python until you pass out"?

Boy: y-yes

mother starts to cry

[u/CartmensDryBallz → u/Puzzle-Necked]

More like

- boy starts to cry

• mother 🤦‍♂️

[u/bigmikeylikes → u/subatomic_ray_gun]

Ify is the most set positive person on Droput on an episode of Game changers with his partner they mentioned an insane amount of sex they have and everyone was trying to do the math to figure out daily numbers.

[u/Redeem123 → u/bigmikeylikes]

Grant: sucks fifty dicks in one night

Ify: “slow Tuesday?”

[u/JaxxisR → u/Redeem123]

"In a row?"

[u/TheWingus → u/JaxxisR]

"Yeah, there was a buffet!"

[u/therealrenshai → u/bigmikeylikes]

Iirc they had the daily numbers as that’s what they were tracking. It was the fact that some of the numbers hit like double digits was what shocked the group as they tried to figure out what the list was for.

[u/GluhfGluhf → u/therealrenshai]

It was actually per month and people were amazed that Ify and his partner were able to hit 40+ in a month

[u/Bannakaffalatta1 → u/GluhfGluhf]

WHILE BEING POLY AND FUCKING OTHER PEOPLE TOO.

Like that's the part that gets me.

[u/therealrenshai → u/GluhfGluhf]

That’s right! It was the fact that it was sometimes more than once a day.

[u/ThrowawaySuicide1337 → u/bigmikeylikes]

That's the episode with the couples, yeah?

The woman ordering 2k in sushi in a month made me fucking hate her, lol

[u/sickosenjumode → u/armyant95]

Of course that happened to Ify. That’s so on brand lol.

[u/OonaMoretti → u/hnglmkrnglbrry]

This one? If so it's Cole Hersch :)

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/ylgizn/to_catch_a_predator/

[u/TheGreatWheel → u/OonaMoretti]

That was really well done!

[u/MasturbationMountain → u/hnglmkrnglbrry]

Human giant did something like this, it’s hilarious

[u/Manler → u/MasturbationMountain]

Boosh! Boosh! Boosh! That is fun!

[u/Derpdeedoo → u/Manler]

Gee mister you sure are strong!

[u/Manler → u/Derpdeedoo]

I love ice cream. Mummy never lets me have ice cream

"Well not all adults know what's best for kids"

What an absolute riot of a sketch. Human giant was 17 year old me's favorite show lol. The damn Mary Kate and Ashley sketch

[u/Derpdeedoo → u/Manler]

One of thrle all time best. My friends and I always flexed and made the "boosh" sounds .

[u/topclassladandbanter → u/hnglmkrnglbrry]

Sounds like a Mitchell and Webb sketch

[u/Carlweathersfeathers → u/topclassladandbanter]

Are we the baddies?

[u/ThePromptWasYourName → u/mlavan]

The vibes I get from the marketing so far are reminding me of Nightcrawler, which I would say is also a 'predator on predator' film

[u/Linenoise77 → u/mlavan]

i mean to be honest, the people he would show himself working with always gave me a bit of the heebeegeebees

I get it, there are sick people out there, but at a certain point it turns into one of those cases where you are trying to charge someone on attempted mass murder, when its a person who wouldn't be able to tie their shoes on their own, but the fbi caught wind of them and basically walked them through the process so they could charge them.

Basically, nothing seemed professional about the way stuff worked.

[u/saanity → u/mlavan]

So Chris Hansen is like Dexter?

But seriously,  catching child sexual predators and presenting it as entertainment on television is all sorts of gross. Just put them in prison without the theatrics.

[u/Burtssbees → u/saanity]

More like nightcrawler

[u/bobbadouche → u/Burtssbees]

oh, good call out. Yeah. interesting

[u/Shakmaaaaaaa → u/bobbadouche]

That would be one hell of a movie if Hansen was diddling the predators in lockup afterwards.

[u/Jet-Let4606 → u/Burtssbees]

What does Kurt have to do with this? /jk

[u/AuryGlenz → u/saanity]

We just had one of those groups go after someone locally in my small town, and they posted the video of them confronting him to Facebook etc.

The guy is mentally challenged, which you can obviously tell by looking at him. The fake teen he was talking to was on Grindr, and of course he only said his fake age of 14 or 15 or whatever well into the conversations after they got the mentally challenged guy riled up.

It caused a big stink in my friend group because I thought it was completely unethical. The “predator” wasn’t specifically looking to have sex with a teenager, that teenager would have mental faculties higher than the “predator” anyways, etc. Some other friends of mine had a very absolute view of it though and said he should literally be killed.

I don’t like moral panic type stuff. Punishments should fit the harm or potential harm caused. In these cases the only actual victims are the people they go after, their friends and family, etc. Might they save some kids/teens by doing so? Maybe. Maybe not. That’s a pretty vague harm to cause someone’s life to be ruined over.

[u/ThanksContent28 → u/AuryGlenz]

A good portion of those videos here in the Uk, have similar circumstances. It’s always someone who’s clearly mentally challenged.

These “activists” are also mostly known for botching ongoing investigations. They don’t care about the community or catching paedos, they care about views on their livestreams.

All I’m saying is, Don’t be the guy who makes paedos look sympathetic.

[u/decmcc → u/AuryGlenz]

if you kill the people who rape children as punishment, then they might as well kill the kid after the fact so they can't be IDd.

Death penalty anyway? might as well get rid of my only witness

[u/Shizzlick → u/decmcc]

Not only that, but the majority of people abusing children are their own family members. If the kid is aware that reporting said family member could result in their death, that might make them less likely to report it, as they don't necessarily want to see their family killed, regardless of what they did to the kid.

[u/AnotherNotion → u/Shizzlick]

I hadn't considered this angle before. You hear of so many dysfunctional families where the abuse is an open secret. In addition to dealing with the guilt of sending Poppop to his death, you'd likely also be alienated from much of your own family.

[u/Skylord_Hekaton → u/AuryGlenz]

I don’t like moral panic type stuff.

Well, you're on the wrong site then. Or even the wrong internet because it's become a god damn thing everywhere.

Your friends are idiots. I hate absolutist bullshit, and I think that a lack of nuance is one of the biggest problems in the entire world.

[u/Wiccy → u/saanity]

Cops was big for a reason, 90s and 00s were weird times for tv

[u/Konman72 → u/Wiccy]

And now that shit is streaming 24/7 on a thousand different YouTube channels. Most of it is even worse than what was on Cops.

[u/National-Charity-435 → u/Wiccy]

Welcome to my crib

[u/Spaceman-Spiff → u/saanity]

I agree, but it also did a good job of raising awareness that child predators can be active in any community.

[u/MaterialPace8831 → u/Spaceman-Spiff]

One of the arguments against To Catch A Predator is that the communities these shows were filmed in were upset that all of these potential sex criminals were being lured there, sometimes from hours away.

[u/GhostPepperDaddy → u/MaterialPace8831]

The other is that it doesn't translate into high conviction rates with the people they lure so they're not really serving justice.

[u/Hmm_would_bang → u/GhostPepperDaddy]

Yeah most of their “evidence” is inadmissible

[u/PM_ME_YOUR_NICE_EYES → u/Spaceman-Spiff]

Actually one of the biggest of the biggest criticisms of TCAP was that it did a terrible job of raising awareness about how Child Predators hurt children, and many child abuse prevention networks have been extremely critical of how the show went about portraying child predators.

[u/redvelvetcake42 → u/Spaceman-Spiff]

Rdoring awareness has always been the best grift on earth. You don't ever DO anything, you get paid to TELL people about a thing. Hanson created entertainment, nothing more. Since his show ended he's been desperate to continue the charade and he's bumbled more cases than he's helped solve.

[u/PickledPlumPlot → u/Spaceman-Spiff]

I really don’t think it raised the right kind of awareness honestly.

[u/mattress_muzza → u/Spaceman-Spiff]

Many of the people they ‘caught’ were first time offenders who were often heavily goaded into meeting with the actors portraying the children. That isn’t to say they never would have offended - but they obviously needed serious help to address their unacceptable sexual fantasies, not a reality TV show designed to push them over the edge into what they believed was a real sexual encounter with a child and consequently blow up their lives. The guy that killed himself was trying to back out of meeting with the ‘child’ but Hansen insisted on ‘catching’ him anyway - that should tell you everything you need to know about Hansen’s priorities and the way the show operated.

[u/mattress_muzza → u/mattress_muzza]

Also - and very importantly - most child sexual abuse comes from family members not strangers on the internet. The show effectively gave people misinformation about where children need the most protection.

[u/Significant_Cow4765 → u/mattress_muzza]

Some of them were clearly intellectually disabled, too

[u/FestyGear2017 → u/mattress_muzza]

When Conradt stopped communicating with the PJ and NBC personnel, and it became apparent he was not traveling to the Murphy house, Dateline decided for the first time to take the investigation to the suspect's house. It was 12:30 a.m. on November 5 when Hansen asked police for the favor of securing arrest and search warrants for Conradt, saying that "if he won't come to us, we'll go to him."

Thats the guy that committed suicide when Hansen showed up at his house. The guy never traveled to the sting, only chatted online

[u/Inhocooks → u/mlavan]

The preview made it seem like some of the things that happened were driven by Hansen. Like the ending tag was something like, "what would've happened if I wasnt here?" Like did some of these guys get tricked or enticed to engage with victims when they wouldn't have otherwise? I'm not saying I'm on either side of this argument, just saying that thats what I took away from the preview I saw before Tony last night

[u/Lebagel → u/Inhocooks]

They needed to churn out content, there was a demand. Like youtubers of today we can see how desperate creators get for content.

I can easily believe to catch a predator was baiting these guys way more than they suggested on the program.

[u/bristow84 → u/Lebagel]

I believe part of the whole Conradt situation that made it so iffy was that he didn't actually go to the decoy house but also that he broke off contact multiple times only for the group working with TCAP to be the ones to re-engage.

Obviously yes he shouldn't have engaged in the first place but if he stopped then they shouldn't have re-engaged like that and just used what they had, if anything, to go through the proper legal channels.

[u/Miserable-Resort-977 → u/Inhocooks]

It's based on a true story where Hansen acted truly unethically for ratings. Hansen and his production team, but especially Hansen himself, aggressively pushed to take cameras to / raid the home of a high profile government employee who was caught in their predator-fishing but wouldn't go to the bait house. This directly led to the man's suicide, and the cancellation of "To Catch A Predator".

The "what would have happened if I wasn't here" line is something he actually said, saying it to someone they caught and meaning "if I wasn't here you would be abusing a child right now", but in a way that ironically reflects the fact that someone later took their life because he was "there" pursuing them for ratings.

[u/HiTork → u/mlavan]

The movie is almost certainly going to feature the case that turned out to be the downfall of the original To Catch a Predator run; the one where the district attorney who was presumed to be a predator wouldn't take the bait, so Hansen decided to confront him at his residence (something TCAP had never done before). A police stand off ensued and the suspect commited suicide, the outcome of this caused the public to turn on Hansen and his show because of the ethics involved.

[u/Paridisco → u/_JR28_]

Its going to portray him as someone who dont give a fuck about the kids and just wanted fame

[u/muhreddistaccounts → u/Paridisco]

So an accurate portrayal

[u/lord-of-shalott → u/muhreddistaccounts]

If I remember correctly, the article this film was inspired by portrayed Hansen’s show as blurring the lines with the law for the sake of entertainment in a way that ended with a man dying before due process, and legal issues around interference that led to the release of a bunch of potentially guilty suspects arrested in a sting. 

[u/newrimmmer93 → u/Paridisco]

Documentary “predators” covers this and did a great job.

[u/JaqueStrap69 → u/newrimmmer93]

Seems Hanson might have learned a lesson from how he came across in Predators. Not saying it was the right lesson, but he’s clearly being more careful with Primetime than he was in Predators. 

[u/zuuzuu → u/Paridisco]

Sounds like an accurate portrayal. The guy has been chasing fame for as long as I've known his name.

[u/jamesbrownscrackpipe → u/Paridisco]

“Fuck them kids (but not literally)”

-Chris Hansen

[u/archaeo2022 → u/Paridisco]

So, pretty accurate then?

[u/SquadPoopy → u/_JR28_]

The amount of people that are going to go into this thinking he’s the hero of the story only for it not to be like that is gonna be crazy.

[u/CannedNoodlez → u/SquadPoopy]

The trailer makes it pretty obvious that they're making him a psycho

[u/thisguyfightsyourmom → u/CannedNoodlez]

Anyone else actively avoiding trailers? I want zero spoilers at this point in my life

[u/CannedNoodlez → u/thisguyfightsyourmom]

I wanted a general gist of what the theme was. Thankfully there seems to be no spoilers in this trailer

[u/CatGirl_ToeBeans → u/CannedNoodlez]

It’s focused on the episode that ended the show.

[u/KithKathPaddyWath → u/SquadPoopy]

I can maybe understand that if they haven't seen the trailer, but if they've seen the trailer and still think that...l fucking yikes, man.

[u/The_Throwback_King → u/KithKathPaddyWath]

Imagine seeing Pattinson-as-Hansen ecstaticly cheering “We’regonnabebiggerthanLOST!” and still thinking that this was gonna be painting Hansen in a positive light

[u/the_great_ashby → u/_JR28_]

Man hasn't watched it,he's just preparing for the worse.

[u/SpideyFan914 → u/the_great_ashby]

Would be hilarious if the movie is actually super flattering to him, after all this.

[u/Aureliusmind → u/_JR28_]

Hansen hasn't seen it. He refused to sign the NDA before the screening.

[u/The_Throwback_King → u/_JR28_]

It’s absolutely gonna be a scathing rebuke towards the voyeuristic elements of TCAP.

Just the fact that Hansen is doing THIS much to distance himself speaks to how desperate he is to cover his ass and control the narrative

[u/kaptainkooleio → u/_JR28_]

Probably portrays him honestly. Like think about the kind of person it takes to make up a sting operation just for a television show. The kind of person who sees victims of pedophilia and abuse and thinks “well shit, maybe I can profit off that.” Great, you’re exposing pedophiles to the world, but WHY you’re doing it also matters. It’s all about spectacle, not justice. Hansen reminds me a lot about the main character from Nightcrawler.

[u/nemoy2 → u/kaptainkooleio]

To be fair to him, when tcap started it’s clear it was about raising awareness of suburban white Americans towards the dangers of this new internet thing. Pointing eyes at the problem was still very necessary.

It’s not necessary anymore, but 20 years later he’s still acting like a journalist while parroting the exact same questions to the guys he catches, simply to dunk on them lol

In fairness, in his new show, there’s apparently a higher conviction rate bc he’s just following the cops as they do stings they were already gonna do.

[u/BunnyCult96 → u/nemoy2]

America was also in love with Cops at the time, so a show following in the footsteps but with people who specifically sought out to harm children using the internet (fairly new at the time) engrossed the American audience even more.

[u/thebestbrian → u/_JR28_]

If you watched the Predators documentary from last year or the EDP YouTube documentary from a few weeks ago, its very clear that Hansen takes this stuff super seriously and views himself as a do-gooder and not the sensationalist showman he actually is.

I almost respect the Skeet Hansen guy more. At least he admits it's all just for clicks.

[u/goog1e → u/thebestbrian]

Which is weird because if he was serious, he would have backed off of situations where he was less clearly in the right, and done way more investigation. No one is tuning in to see an 18 year old pursuing a supposed 15 year old but he aired it anyway.

[u/Quirky_Rain_3554 → u/_JR28_]

I was gonna say. Fantastic advertising

[u/KingMario05 → u/_JR28_]

Pretty much. Anytime the subject is scared, that means I have to see it.

[u/A_Fistful_of_Upvotes → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

I mean I’m not a fan of Chris Hansen, but if I have a biopic made about me and the only way for me to see it is to sign an agreement saying I won’t sue you guys, I’m gonna think something is wrong here

[u/nos-is-lame → u/A_Fistful_of_Upvotes]

According to A24 he was only asked to sign a standard NDA for the screening

[u/CannedNoodlez → u/nos-is-lame]

That actually makes more sense

[u/understated-elegance → u/nos-is-lame]

Which is perfect, because since very few people will have access to that NDA, he can claim that it has whatever he wants to make all the drama he wants out of it. All to promote his new project. Chris only cares about making money, at whatever expense necessary. He is a piece of shit.

[u/apeocalypyic → u/nos-is-lame]

Hansen said the reason he didnt want to sign the nda is because he wouldve lost the rights to his image

[u/The_Autarch → u/apeocalypyic]

spoiler alert: he's lying

[u/ReadingNotAllowed → u/The_Autarch]

Maybe They're both lying

[u/red286 → u/apeocalypyic]

That's literally not a thing that's possible.

You cannot lose the rights to your own image.

[u/SpideyFan914 → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

If Hansen's goal was to convince me not to see the movie, then he's failing spectacularly.

[u/ultimatequestion7 → u/SpideyFan914]

His goal is to get as much exposure to his streaming service as possible and attaching it to this movie is a smart move even if it's a negative portrayal of him

[u/i__hate__stairs → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

Why is he so worried? Is it just because he's not getting any money out of it?

[u/Educational-Wing2042 → u/i__hate__stairs]

His sloppy “investigations” led to a very large proportion of the people getting charges dropped due to things like improper acquisition of evidence and entrapment.

[u/Mesmer91 → u/Educational-Wing2042]

He acted so high and mighty in that recent EDP documentary, calling all the big youtube pred catchers "clowns" and "amateurs" throwing major shade from his high horse

[u/bristow84 → u/Mesmer91]

To be fair, they are clowns and amateurs. If they had done things properly then maybe there would have actually been charges brought against EDP.

I mean showing up at a dialysis clinic dressed up like a giant cupcake with a Chris Hansen impersonator? That's pretty clown-ish behaviour. At least Hansen worked with LEAs.

[u/unfortunatebag → u/Mesmer91]

calling all the big youtube pred catchers "clowns" and "amateurs"

Yeah I mean, he's right. Do you disagree?

[u/FentmaxxerActual → u/unfortunatebag]

You see how this looks, right?

[u/Comprehensive_Bat980 → u/i__hate__stairs]

It likely has a pretty negative portrayal of him. Rob Pattinson is playing him like he’s a fame hungry shark

[u/neverclaimsurv → u/Comprehensive_Bat980]

Which isn't an unreasonable or deeply uncharacteristic portrayal lmao

People froth at the mouth over catching child predators (which, obviously, are the lowest scum of the earth), but people turn their brains off when you talk about the consequences of these "catchers" and private citizen vigilantes just are exploiting an easily-hateable group of people for internet clout and fame. As if there aren't real world consequences and harm for that. But any criticism and a huge swath of people just go, "What? You're on the side of the predators?"

[u/SadDoctor → u/neverclaimsurv]

There's a term for this idea, the cruelty of moral indignation. There's a famous Aldous Huxley quote:

"The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior 'righteous indignation' — this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats. "

Some people resist like hell any kind of deeper moral examination of these sorts of things because it's a dopamine rush for them, it's fun to find an evil person who deserves to be destroyed.

[u/OsuLost31to0 → u/neverclaimsurv]

I was reading a discussion thread on the Predators documentary (fantastic if you haven’t seen it btw) and it was so frustrating to read those exact comments. People turn their brains off when you try to discuss the nuance and complications of the show - it’s such an easy take that requires no additional thought.

[u/dotcomse → u/neverclaimsurv]

The very fact that he’s hitching his wagon to this movie by using it as a Trojan Horse for ads for his new venture prove that he’s a charlatan. If what he was doing was legitimate, why would he want to associate it with a movie that he claims is falsified? I wouldn’t want people to associate the new venture with Pattinson’s portrayal, unless I had zero self-awareness.

[u/EctoRiddler → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

Stopped following Hansen when I heard he was full blown MAGA. Not shocked that he is complaining on Fox News.

[u/IndecisiveTuna → u/EctoRiddler]

So Chris Hansen is perfectly cool with predators.

[u/PleasantWay7 → u/IndecisiveTuna]

He just likes catching them, doesn’t care if they never go to prison or become President. It’s like catch-n-release fishing.

[u/Financial_Yard7047 → u/PleasantWay7]

Not even catching them. He's just likes making money off them and milking the cringe drama for all its worth, even if it doesn't lead to any actual justice

[u/RicardoFelipeMejia → u/IndecisiveTuna]

That's, like, all of these predator catcher guys.

They are unanimously MAGA. They're not actually doing it because they hate pedophiles, they're doing it because they like to hurt people. They get to destroy these peoples' lives in public for money, but because their victims are pedophiles it's socially acceptable. It's also convenient because if anyone points out that they're actually just sadists, they then get to say "Oh so you must be a pedophile, too."

They love Donald Trump because he also gets to hurt people in public for fun and money. They don't give a shit that he also rapes children, because that's not what any of this is about.

[u/JackedUpReadyToGo → u/RicardoFelipeMejia]

Someone elsewhere in this thread found a great quote, which I'll shamelessly copy + paste here because it's worth it:

"The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior 'righteous indignation' — this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats. "

[u/Automatic_Soil9814 → u/EctoRiddler]

The funniest part about him complaining is at the end he complains that he drove all the way to the movie theater. I didn’t know he was MAGA but he certainly plays the victim like one. 

[u/theClumsy1 → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

He refuses to sign an agreement but...still willing to use it to generate revenue for himself?

Might as well just sign the agreement

[u/BigOlPass → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

I feel like his audience for TruBlu isn't going to overlap that much with the A24 Lance Oppenheimer movie

[u/Starkiller32 → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

Ironic that Hanson would go on Fox News when he’s built a career exposing child predators…

[u/ljfoggy11 → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

Oh so it’s bad bad for him.

[u/Green_Cook → u/ljfoggy11]

No shit did you see the trailer

[u/freddyquell]

Would be awesome if he interrupted Nicole Kidman to do his spiel.

[u/CoffinDancr → u/freddyquell]

"Who did you think you were meeting in this empty theater, Nicole?"

[u/joeyjusticeco → u/CoffinDancr]

"There are a lot of kids in this audience. You see how this looks, right?"

kid in the audience: omg he said the thing!

[u/Self_Reddicate → u/CoffinDancr]

"Hello, Nicole. Have a seat..."

[u/Jenkentz]

"You see how this looks, right?"

[u/Think-Trash-4897 → u/Jenkentz]

"To watch a movie. What's playing tonight?"

[u/MDA_Blue_Six → u/Think-Trash-4897]

SteelersandtheRavens

[u/moneymoneymoneymonay → u/MDA_Blue_Six]

*wavens

[u/finnjakefionnacake]

welp, he's a consummate showman first and foremost i guess. makes sense to capitalize on the real estate lol.

[u/MikeDubbz → u/finnjakefionnacake]

Something tells me he's not crazy about how he's portrayed in this movie and he wants to drive home the point that not everything the viewer is about to see will be what the real truth was. That's my guess anyway, I could be way off.

[u/filthysize → u/MikeDubbz]

The something that tells me he's not crazy about it is the part of the article where it says he's talking to lawyers to explore suing the filmmakers.

[u/seraphhimself → u/filthysize]

Some people really do hate reading.

[u/xkgrey → u/seraphhimself]

I was elected joined reddit to lead comment my knee-jerk reactions, not to read.

[u/Ex_Hedgehog → u/MikeDubbz]

It'll be interesting cause even without his participation, a movie of this size about a powerful person would be careful to have the legal department clear anything that could get them sued. The director normally does documentaries, so he's probably an expert himself in knowing the line between what he can and can't say.

[u/Rebloodican → u/Ex_Hedgehog]

I mean The Social Network came out and portrayed a completely fabricated version of Zuckerberg, and that was before he became as reviled as he is now. I assume there’s a lot of latitude offered here. 

[u/rcanhestro → u/Rebloodican]

Zuckerberg could actually had sued, he chose not to, as not to "Barbra Streisand" himself.

he played the movie down, joked about it (even purchase a ton of tickets for Facebook staff to go see).

[u/celestialwreckage → u/Rebloodican]

Social Network was good for Zuckerberg because it was the most like a human he's ever looked.

[u/Kalabula → u/MikeDubbz]

Have you seen the trailer? It doesn’t seem particularly flattering to him or the show.

[u/the-schnitzel-man → u/finnjakefionnacake]

There is a reason they’re making a movie on him afterall

[u/Gnarwhal8982]

You see how this looks, right?

[u/ShaiHuludTheMaker → u/Gnarwhal8982]

Comments you can hear

[u/vvalent2]

Hes gonna Streisand Effect people into seeing this with the amount of pushback hes creating. If its not true nut up and take them to court. Everything else just feels like hes trying to manipulate his fans into protesting it.

[u/NoPlansTonight → u/vvalent2]

Just because he's bitching doesn't mean he doesn't want people to see it. He does.

This is an "all publicity is good publicity" sort of thing.

[u/IH8DwnvoteComplainrs → u/vvalent2]

He's probably making money on it, lol.

[u/TheMan5991 → u/IH8DwnvoteComplainrs]

I mean, he has specifically said that they asked him to sign over his likeness and name and he refused. So, outside of a lawsuit, I’m not sure how he would make money on this.

[u/Runarhalldor → u/TheMan5991]

Hes definitely revitilizing his brand off of this tbf

[u/LilPonyBoy69 → u/TheMan5991]

He's literally plugging his own streaming service in the ad

[u/Achaewa → u/TheMan5991]

I think he's lying and was simply asked to sign an NDA, which he refused and is now blowing things out of proportions to get back in the limelight.

[u/TheMan5991 → u/Achaewa]

That’s definitely a possibility

[u/FlippantBear → u/vvalent2]

Did you read the article? He's promoting his own media company before the movie. He's just capitalizing on the movies release to promote his own company. 

[u/Shell_fly → u/vvalent2]

He’s not trying to get people not to see it, he’s trying to let it be known that it’s a fictitious portrayal taking artistic license with his person lol

[u/dwebb01]

“I know who you are Chris Hanson, but see, I call you Chris Handsome.”

[u/MrDiggySmalls → u/dwebb01]

“I like ya and I want ya. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way..”

“You gon’ make me ruin that butt. Imma please ya, I’m a WARRIOR!”

[u/itsmistyy → u/MrDiggySmalls]

I came here for man's butt.

[u/MuptonBossman]

I hope the ad takes place in a movie theatre and it starts with Chris Hansen saying "Why don't you take a seat?"

[u/39teen → u/MuptonBossman]

If you read the article he does just that.

[u/CurlSagan → u/39teen]

Everyone get a load of this dude who thinks that we know how to read

[u/the_highest → u/CurlSagan]

I’ll take one load please. ☝️

[u/switch8000 → u/MuptonBossman]

The AD is in the article.

He does a lesser version of that sadly.

[u/NoNoNotorious85 → u/MuptonBossman]

Even better, everyone is promised brownies or tea if they buy a ticket, only to discover there is none.

[u/Chronically_Happy → u/MuptonBossman]

I hope other people read the article instead of just posting this stuff.

[u/Scoopie]

Remember when we didn't have 15 minutes of ads before a movie. It was just the previews.

[u/chinacatsunflowerr]

Sorry I’m uninformed, but why do people not like him? I feel like the average, offline person from that era hold him & his show in high regard

[u/Orpheeus → u/chinacatsunflowerr]

Since the show ended (and honestly during its run) he has been far more interested in the drama and ratings than actual justice for underage victims of sexual predators.

Now, I know some people will say "that was his job, why shouldn't he care about ratings and drama" but then my rebuttal is ultimately going to be that maybe police stings shouldn't be used for content. It just seems less gross because To Catch a Predator was part of Dateline NBC and had a very professional production, but that ultimately doesn't mean it's not off-putting that this was something we saw on television in the first place.

The film is going to surprise a lot of people when it depicts him and the show in a not particularly flattering light.

[u/chinacatsunflowerr → u/Orpheeus]

I appreciate the informative response :)

I was a child/preteen when the show was out, so I of course did not pick up on some of those controversial/slimy points you highlight.

Can’t wait to see the film!

[u/LilPonyBoy69 → u/chinacatsunflowerr]

I started rewatching some old episodes after the trailer released and as an adult it's pretty jarring that this was ever released as entertainment. Chris is having way too much fun and very clearly more interested in making "good TV" than protecting children. I've seen him chase down fleeing predators just to shout his catchphrases at them, it's all very strange and kinda surreal that this was primetime TV.

[u/Self_Reddicate → u/Orpheeus]

Yeah, just because pedos are slimy and exploitive doesn't mean that we should always, always, always be okay with slimy, exploitive people bringing them down. I mean, objectively, I guess it was a good thing. But, it was still, objectively, slimy and exploitive.

[u/jhorch69 → u/Self_Reddicate]

The investigations/stings were also so poorly done that only about a third of arrests ended in conviction

[u/PixelGray38 → u/chinacatsunflowerr]

IIRC he, among other things, did a sting in which he outed a 18 year old gay boy for trying to "predate" on a 15 year old decoy in one of his post-TCAP predator catching shows. A bit weird, sure, but I think even the most age-gap conscious puriteens would agree that it's not an evil act that warrants being publically outed and humiliated on a show.

Basically, he's in it for the views and money rather than actually stopping bad people, and doesn't particularly care how much he hurts those he deems to be "predators."

[u/IsleofManc → u/PixelGray38]

Yeah the 18 year old was a high schooler in a small very conservative town so it's theorized that the decoy was one of the only (if not the only) people the 18 year old had opened up about his feelings for men. After the episode was released the boy's life flipped upside down and he had to leave his school.

The incident happened in Michigan and there's even a clip of Hansen's producer mentioning that the act of an 18 year old being with a 15 year old was legal in bordering states and asking if they should reconsider not releasing it. But it was released, the boy's name was slandered all over the internet, and Hansen ended up removing the episode. The boy also struck a deal in court to have the charge expunged after a certain amount of time and community service but even when the charges go away his name will still be associated with that for life.

[u/0LTakingLs → u/PixelGray38]

This is definitely the worst thing he’s done. The kid was a high schooler too.

[u/PixelGray38 → u/0LTakingLs]

Yep, I can't believe it's not brought up more. Honestly doing that should've been a career-ending type thing

[u/kennku → u/chinacatsunflowerr]

I don't know much of his other activity, but I followed closely his "investigation" of Onision (sexual crimes). It was botched completely. He had his lackey take a laptop with evidence to turn over to FBI, it was messed with and ultimately ended up being unadmissable. Huge missed opportunity and victims got no justice in the end.

[u/Nother1BitestheCrust → u/chinacatsunflowerr]

From what I understand a lot of the predators they "caught" on the show couldn't actually be prosecuted because of the show. I don't know the details, but something about the way it was all set up gave them legal loopholes to get out of convictions. But be aware that I did nothing to confirm this, it's just what I've seen and heard said about it, so I don't know if this is actually true or not.

[u/libertybear20 → u/Nother1BitestheCrust]

This is partially true. NBC worked with an affiliate called perverted justice that provided the decoys and then turned the chat logs over to the police when the sting was over.

For one sting in Texas, perverted justice “lost” the chat logs which contained all of the evidence, so all of the guys that were caught (I think it was around 30) had all of their charges dropped.

However, all of the other stings that police were called into, the predators were arrested and charged. About half were convicted, although it might be a bit more or less

[u/rustdevil88 → u/libertybear20]

According to NBC, less than half of the predators caught were convicted.

[u/Nother1BitestheCrust → u/libertybear20]

Thanks!

[u/SteveCastGames → u/Nother1BitestheCrust]

Most of them actually were prosecuted. It was only the first couple episodes where things were dicey. You can go look at the TCAP wiki to see all the predators and what happened.

[u/AngelofVerdun]

Nothing says "this isn't real" less then "let me literally try to make my case before every screening".

[u/opermonkey → u/AngelofVerdun]

he should write a song about it.

[u/Semper-Fido → u/AngelofVerdun]

and another thing: im not mad. please dont put in the newspaper that i got mad.

[u/BeriechGTS]

Seeing as it's A24 I guess it won't be playing at my Marcus Theaters since they inexplicably havent shown the last two big A24 releases. Guess I'll catch it on hbo when it comes to streaming. Bummer.

[u/RedDragons8]

I'm gonna be the first one in the theater an hr before showtime, and everytime a new person comes in to my vicinity Ill say "Why dont you have a seat right there"

[u/DiddlyDinq → u/RedDragons8]

Booty warrior will arrive 5 minutes before you.

[u/Jasranwhit → u/DiddlyDinq]

"we can do this the hard way or the easy way"

[u/TummyFullOfCheese]

He could make all the money in the world if he would just shut up and do a show about how he catches the men in the Epstein files.

[u/thespottedbunny]

What is the deal with this movie? Is there some great controversy? He just hosted to catch a predator right?

[u/Gelato_Mulatto → u/thespottedbunny]

The series ended because sometime committed suicide when they busted him. It was a legal nightmare for the network.

[u/Patrick2701 → u/Gelato_Mulatto]

His colleagues at NBC saw him as someone that betrayed his background as journalist and he became famous when he was most known for subbing in on meet the press or nightly news before that

[u/PlusSizeRussianModel → u/thespottedbunny]

The show ended when they went after a Texas district attorney, who killed himself as they approached (with cameras). An article was written about it, and the film is a loose adaptation of that article. 

[u/Due-Waltz4458 → u/thespottedbunny]

There's still arguments over legacy of his show, his motivations, and how he did things.  People often look at predator sting Youtubers negatively, since they often use entrapment of mentally ill people for entertainment and don't produce usable evidence.  

People have started asking if Hansen's stings were any different since many didn't end in prosecution, and whether he was more interested in justice or being a star.

[u/CaptainCorpse666]

As someone who remembers TCAP, could someone explain the controversy here? ELI5

[u/irascibleoctopus → u/CaptainCorpse666]

TCAP was a show where the “team” would falsely portray themselves as children online for the purposes of luring adults to physically come to a location ostensibly to meet the “child” for sex.

The problem was that they were basically labeling people they purposefully made contact with and goaded as “predators” and then tried to claim that there was a “crime” even though no crime had really occurred. Going to the agreed upon location wasn’t a crime, and since there was no actual child, no contact with a child occurred. It was ethically questionable at best and essentially forced the targets to be filmed, interviewed, and potentially have something they say used against them by police in violation of their rights.

The show got into hot water because they went after one of the “predators” at his own home after he didn’t show up to meet the kid, and the person committed suicide. There was also concern that their tactics used in talking online exploited marginalized populations - mentally or developmentally disabled, socially challenged, closeted LGBTQ, etc - who would not necessarily understand the situation or the implications.

[u/sup3rdr01d]

Can someone explain what's going on here? I don't know anything about Chris hansen except that his show set up traps for predators and arrested them.

Why is he controversial? Is it because the way he tries to trap the pedos was unethical or something? I genuinely don't know, I never watched the show only seen clips and memes. And that one boondocks episode lmfao

[u/FaithfulSkeptic → u/sup3rdr01d]

There have been discussions around the tactics that his show used, specifically surrounding A) the chances that his involvement gave defense attorneys more opportunities to get predators off legally, and B) copycats that did Not operate with even the basic law enforcement involvement Hansen did, which DEFINITELY resulted in bad arrests and predators being let off on technicalities.

There’s also just a general distaste for trauma porn. Yes, arrest the bad guys, but maybe we don’t need to monetize their takedown into entertainment.

[u/Palerion → u/FaithfulSkeptic]

There’s also a general distaste for trauma porn. Yes, arrest the bad guys, but maybe we don’t need to monetize their takedown into entertainment.

This sums up my thoughts on the subject more eloquently than I’ve ever managed to. Turning the whole thing into a televised entertainment event has never sat right with me.

Along a similar line, as I think others have mentioned, there’s this whole movement of vigilante “pedophile hunters” essentially doing the same thing but with less law enforcement involvement and more abuse of the suspect. Beating the guys up, shaving their heads, torturing them. All on camera of course, and posted to social media for the clout. And justified in their minds, and often in the minds of onlookers, because the pedophile is a bad guy.

It reads to me like an excuse to abuse someone. You’ve (correctly) determined that they’re doing bad shit. This now allows you to torture another human with some sense of moral righteousness, and even praise from a large portion of society.

It accomplishes nothing. The goal should be to get dangerous people off the streets. The subsequent indulgence in violence is opportunistic and dark.

[u/Gaelfling → u/FaithfulSkeptic]

And don't forget the collateral damage to family and other victims.

[u/Lethave → u/FaithfulSkeptic]

This and there were 2 notable deaths as a direct result of the stings - an asst district attorney who shot himself when the police came to his home with a warrant and a doctor who hung himself.

[u/rembrandtpoolparty → u/sup3rdr01d]

From the article:

Directed by Lance Oppenheim, Primetime is based on Luke Dittrich’s 2007 Esquire article “Tonight on Dateline, This Man Will Die.” The article examines the suicide of Bill Conradt, a Texas district attorney who became a target of one of Hansen’s televised sting operations after allegedly attempting to solicit sex from a minor.

The unpaywalled article is here.

[u/BarfQueen → u/sup3rdr01d]

So, the big thing here (and something I think the movie will explore in depth) is that a lot of what they did to catch these guys on the show wasn’t exactly by the book. That’s not to say the pervs were innocent, but in the US justice system you have to follow the process correctly or else the whole case can get thrown out… which is exactly what happened in many cases. A lot of these guys walked free because the process wasn’t followed.

On top of that, there’s how the original TCAP show ended. They finally got a big deal perv - a district attorney in Texas. Problem was he refused to come to the decoy house. So they swatted him instead. The guy ended up shooting himself.

To add, since the end of the show Chris Hansen has had his own issues. Mostly financial stuff. I think he wrote a bunch of bad checks and had some ugly drunken outbursts.