Robert Pattinson plays Chris Hansen in A24's venice-bound *Primetime*. A24 drops the full trailer for *Primetime*, Robert Pattinson's Venice-bound drama about the origins of TV's To Catch a Predator. Opens September 25. A24 has released the full official trailer for Primetime, director Lance Oppenheim's drama about the origins of the television program To Catch a Predator, with Robert Pattinson starring as host Chris Hansen. The trailer arrived on August 6, ahead of the film's world premiere in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, with a US theatrical release set for September 25. Pattinson also serves as a producer on the project. The cast includes Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers, Matthew Maher, and Bokeem Woodbine, who plays a police officer. From teaser to full reveal. A24 had put out a shorter teaser in May, but the August 6 release marks the first full-length look at the film, according to Deadline. The studio first announced the project in October 2024, at which point it was described only as a story about a journalist who investigates crime and transforms television - without explicitly naming Hansen as the subject. The screenplay was written by Ajon Singh. Producers alongside Pattinson include Lars Knudsen, Brighton McCloskey, Tyler Campellone, Fred Berger, and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones. What the trailer reveals. Set in 2006, the film follows Hansen as he sets out to make broadcasting history through his Dateline NBC segments exposing suspected child predators. As firstshowing.net reports, the trailer presents Hansen as someone with his own motivations driving the series forward. The trailer is structured as a split screen, with Pattinson delivering lines that echo Hansen's on-camera confrontations. His character asks subjects what would have happened had he not been there, whether they understand how the situation appears, and whether a man must be held accountable for his choices. He then introduces himself as Hansen with Dateline NBC, telling his subject they can be part of television history. Oppenheim's fiction debut. Oppenheim is best known for documentary work, including Some Kind of Heaven, Spermworld, and the HBO series Ren Faire. Primetime represents his move into narrative fiction. According to firstshowing.net, production took place in New Orleans under the working title Bluefin Tuna. The film arrives in the wake of renewed scrutiny of To Catch a Predator. Firstshowing.net notes that a documentary titled Predators, which premiered at Sundance in 2025, examined the show critically, looking at Hansen's conduct and whether the program genuinely deterred predators or complicated efforts to do so. Primetime appears to be informed by those kinds of questions about Hansen's legacy and his personal drive to put the show on air. The film competes at Venice before opening in US cinemas on September 25. This is one of the more anticipated A24 fall releases, with Pattinson returning to prestige drama after a string of high-profile projects. Tickets and screenings have not yet been announced publicly through the sources available. Patricia gorman. Patricia is a senior reporter at culture.org and has covered arts institutions since 2016. She previously wrote for The Art Newspaper and the Hartford Courant, where she handled... The Film & TV Brief You finished the piece. Get the next one. The stories shaping culture, chosen and explained by its editors. Wednesdays.

EU approves Paramount's WBD acquisition with conditions. By Staff writer 25 July 2026 The European Commission has approved Paramount Skydance's proposed $110bn acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. However, the commission said the approval is conditional upon full compliance with commitments offered by Paramount - including withdrawing from Universal International Pictures (UIP), its film distribution joint venture with Universal. The commission ruled that if UIP also distributed Warner films, "it would have led to worse rental and distribution terms for cinema operators, ultimately disadvantaging consumers." Paramount has pledged to terminate its stake in UIP in the European Economic Area (EEA) within 13 months of completing the transaction. For a period of 10 years, Paramount will also not jointly co-distribute films with Universal in the EEA. The commission cleared the transaction from a production point of view, ruling that enough film studios remain as competitors in Europe, including Disney, NBC Universal, and Sony, along with smaller US studios such as Amazon MGM, A24, and Lionsgate, as well as European studios. Regarding AV services such as TV channels and streaming, the commission also said enough alternative competitors remain "to exert sufficient competitive pressure on the merged entity in the EEA." As for the overlap in pay TV channels for children, the commission found that streaming platforms offering children's content will continue to act as a competitive constraint on merged Paramount-WBD's TV channels. The commission's approval comes just weeks after a coalition of US states, including California, filed a lawsuit to block the deal on antitrust grounds. Back in June, the US Justice Department's Antitrust Division approved the deal. In a written statement, Lisa Nandy, the UK's Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, recently warned of the likelihood of UK intervention in Paramount's $110bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery. Discover more here. 28 July 2026 The final details for construction of a major TV and film studio in Sunderland have been set out in a revised application submitted to the city's planning authority. 28 July 2026 Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) has briefed broadcasters on production and technology preparations for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games (LA28). 28 July 2026 Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery are to delay their $110bn merger due to pending lawsuits from US states and the Writers Guild of America. 27 July 2026 Mediaproxy has named Heartland Video Systems (HVS) as its exclusive partner for US television broadcasting. The Wisconsin-based systems integrator will represent Mediaproxy's full range of technologies, including LogServer and Monwall, and offer them as part of its installation portfolio. 27 July 2026 Live video delivery and workflow orchestration specialist Zixi and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) have announced a strategic new integration to deliver C-band replacement solutions for linear broadcasters and content distributors. Favourites: