A U.S. Zyn shortage became part of director Lance Oppenheim’s pitch to get Robert Pattinson to play Chris Hansen in Primetime. Pattinson was attached as a producer, but Oppenheim wanted him in front of the camera as the To Catch a Predator host.
“Rob, at the time, was grappling with a Zyn addiction,” Oppenheim said.
While screenwriter Ajon Singh revised the script to persuade Pattinson to star, the director enlisted a friend in Canada to ship 200 canisters of the nicotine pouches to the actor’s Los Angeles home. Oppenheim also delivered the revised script with a letter opening, “Dear Chris Han-Zyn.”
After reading it, Pattinson called Oppenheim and accepted the role. The director described that call: “It was like LeBron making the announcement that he was joining the Heat.”
A24’s Primetime opened Sept. 25 and has earned nearly $50 million worldwide on a $15 million production budget.
Pattinson’s performance has drawn Oscar buzz, though Hansen himself has criticized both the movie and the portrayal, calling it a “complete work of fiction.”
