‘Primetime’ Is a Robert Pattinson Transformation and the Nightmare Media Movie of Our Time, With Lance Oppenheim!
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What do Sean and Amanda talk about in the opening intro?
I'm Sean Fennessey. I'm
Amanda Dobbins. And
this is the big picture and conversation show about primetime. Today on the show, we are digging into the new Robert Pattinson starring paranoid satire horror thriller that portrays Chris Hansen, host of To Catch a Predator, as a lodestar for our modern crisis of conspiratorial narcissism. The movie is a dark, twitchy portrait of a media culture gone horribly wrong and also kind of funny. Later in this episode, I'll be joined by Lance Oppenheim, the filmmaker, making his scripted feature debut with Primetime Lance. Is best known for his documentaries. He last appeared on the show in 2024. He's having an amazing year between Primetime and his forthcoming Elizabeth Holmes doc with Nathan Fielder, You Can See Everything.
This conversation is entirely about Primetime and his transition to fiction storytelling, and it's a great one. Lance might be the smartest young filmmaker on the planet right now. Stick around for it. But first, some movie news right after this. This episode is presented by State Farm. You know the feeling. Long day, good meal, you finally sit down, and now you're just staring at your screen. Slasher, rom-com, period drama, psychological thriller, but some decisions don't have to be that hard. State Farm is here to help. Like when you choose to bundle and save with the personal price plan. Bundling, just another way to save with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state.
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This is surprise movie news. This is breaking movie news.
It's it's more m movie feelings. Okay. I wanna share with you some feelings I'm having.
Oh gr
okay.
This is why you didn't tell me ahead of time.
Well that's not true. That's not true. I wonder I've been
in a I've been in a screening that drove here, so I don't know any news that happened. But instead did you have a breakdown? Did you have a um like an epiphany?
No? Okay. I think I'm I'm incapable of either of those things at this stage of my life. I'm trying to stay even right now here in twenty twenty six. I've done a pretty good job, I think.
Yeah.
I have been feeling a bit low. about the Paramount merger.
Sure.
And my lowness was lowered. when word that Elon Musk was maybe going to be a part of the investment in Paramount because this is a one hundred and ten billion dollar acquisition and David Ellison and Co. need money and there's going to be a lot of debt. And I was, you know, I'm I'm not happy about the merger. I'm not happy that Warner Brothers is no longer a standalone
Right.
Movie studio and and television studio and I've got a lot of concerns about it. It but you know, I've been trying to block it out and trying to m I knew that this was gonna happen and forge ahead. And forge ahead?
There's nothing that we can do. And all of the business splanners said to us, okay, well, if Paramount doesn't buy Warner Brothers, then another company has to because it was built to be sold and what ATT did and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. And we as MBAs, along with our other credentials here, said, okay, sure.
Well, what I I thought back on a few times we were at a a Christmas party in December and we were having a conversation with Matt Bellany, our colleague here on the Ringer Podcast Network, and he was like It's gonna be paramount, you know? Like just yeah, it's gonna be paramount. Just accept it. And even he over the last whatever nine months has wavered and toggled. And we had the the Netflix moment and a lot of things went back and forth and back and forth. But deep down, I think everybody, especially the cynics, were like, it's gonna be paramount. And so, you know, we are where we are with that. I'm trying to push those feelings aside. Okay. Because this is a movie podcast, right?
Sure.
And I I we find ourselves on one of the like like the great kinds of movie weekends where like a bunch of different movies are coming out and it seems like some of them might actually do well.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What do Sean and Amanda talk about in the opening intro?
0:15–5:43
2
How do the hosts feel about the Paramount‑Warner merger and upcoming movie weekend?
5:43–31:20
3
Why does the conversation shift to an in‑depth look at *Primetime*?
31:20–54:14
4
How does Lance Oppenheim describe his childhood fascination with Chris Hansen and the origins of the film’s concept?
54:14–1:30:05
5
What challenges did Lance face transitioning from documentary work to directing a scripted feature like *Primetime*?
1:30:05–1:50:36
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from The Big Picture
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The 10 Best Movies at the Telluride and Venice Film Festivals. Plus: Nathan Fielder’s Stunning Elizabeth Holmes Doc.