Director Lance Oppenheim bribed Robert Pattinson into starring in his new film with 200 canisters of nicotine pouches and a pun-filled love letter. Pattinson said yes.
Oppenheim told Vulture that Pattinson, who was originally attached to “Primetime” only as a producer, was “grappling with a Zyn addiction” at the time, and the nicotine pouches were in short supply across the United States. The director enlisted a friend in Canada to ship 200 canisters to Pattinson’s home in Los Angeles.
He paired the haul with the latest draft of the screenplay and a letter that opened: “Dear Chris Han-Zyn.” Pattinson plays “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen in the film, which chronicles the production and scandals behind the Dateline NBC series.
Pattinson called Oppenheim after reading the reworked script and agreed to take the role. Oppenheim compared the moment to LeBron James announcing he was joining the Miami Heat. In a separate September interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said the team had also rewritten the script to give it a fever-dream quality after a late-night meeting at Pattinson’s house.
“Primetime” opened September 25 and has grossed nearly $50 million worldwide against a $15 million production budget, according to Variety.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
