‘Primetime’: Robert Pattinson captivates Venice as a ravenous audience hunter

Television’s hunt for ratings can turn into a nightmare. At the Venice Film Festival, Robert Pattinson has drawn attention with “Primetime,” a dark, horror-tinged story about an insatiable reality-show host who will do almost anything to conquer prime time.

The film is competing for the Golden Lion and marks the fiction feature debut of US director Lance Oppenheim, known for the documentaries “Some Kind of Heaven” and “Spermworld.” Its inspiration is “To Catch a Predator,” the controversial American reality program in which host Chris Hansen lured alleged sexual abusers with fake profiles posing as minors.

“The idea that fascinated me was what happens when you become one of the darkest subjects in the entertainment world?” Oppenheim said at the film’s Venice press conference. Pattinson plays a presenter who exposes men chatting with children before a national audience. Beneath the image of a crusading justice-seeker, however, lies an overwhelming desire to win the ratings battle and displace the era’s most popular shows.

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The idea that fascinated me was what happens when you become one of the darkest subjects in the entertainment world?

That ambition drives the host after a major figure hidden behind the era’s anonymous chats. He does not realise that the pursuit is leading toward a tragic abyss that will consume his program. The film recreates the frantic backstage world of the 2000s, the rivalry between broadcasters and a public appetite that increasingly confuses information, justice and entertainment.

Pattinson, who also helped produce the film, said he worked to make the role his own. “Little by little, I grew more and more fond of him. Preparing the character required an enormous amount of work, more than any other role I have done,” he said. The film also draws on the host’s memorable catchphrases, including “sit right there,” which became internet memes. With Ari Aster among its producers, “Primetime” combines a fast-moving, sometimes dreamlike and eerie style with a story about the machinery of television spectacle.

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Little by little, I grew more and more fond of him. Preparing the character required an enormous amount of work, more than any other role I have done.