Box office magnet Robert Pattinson appears in paedophile thriller

BRITISH star Robert Pattinson will look to extend his stellar 2026 box office run by playing a creepy paedophile-hunting TV presenter in "Primetime", which premieres at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday.

Ahead of his appearance in the third installment of the "Dune" franchise in December, Pattinson will hit screens in the dark thriller, the first movie for which he has a producer credit and a first feature film from 30-year-old director Lance Oppenheim.

"Primetime" tells the story of scandal-plagued NBC reality TV show "To Catch a Predator" which saw presenter Chris Hansen lure paedophiles to fake meetings with children from 2004-2007, then unmask them in front of the TV cameras.

"Twilight" and "The Batman" star Pattinson has already earned praise from Hansen for his powers of imitation, but the original NBC host has also hinted at possible legal action against the film, which hits theatres later this month.

"Obviously he has practised imitating me, and while I think it's overly dramatic, I think there is a pretty good imitation there in the trailer," Hansen told US chat show Entertainment Tonight late last month.

"My wife (and) my family seem to think it's a pretty good imitation.

The Hollywood Reporter has described "Primetime" as "a probing, darkly surreal immersion into the mid-aughts" with Pattinson's transformation seen as "eerie".

The 40-year-old has become one of the industry's most bankable stars, with his films this year including hit "The Drama" with Zendaya, as well as box office behemoth "The Odyssey" in which he plays the villainous Antinous.

As co-producer, Pattinson has invested in the production of "Primetime" through his own company Icki Eneo Arlo and will stand to gain directly from ticket sales and the streaming rights.

- Oasis to come -

The film, made with independent US studio A24, is one of the most anticipated in the main Venice festival competition this year.

The Italian event has been largely overlooked by Hollywood studios and American streamers who turned up in numbers at last year's event.

One of the critics' favourites so far is "Wild Horse Nine", a dark comedy by British-Irish director Martin McDonagh that sees John Malkovich play a cynical CIA agent taking a break in Chile ahead of a military coup backed by the US intelligence agency.

There is also a strong stable of documentaries including one about Tesla billionaire Elon Musk by Oscar-winner Alex Gibney and another about the reunion tour of British rock band Oasis last year that looks set to delight fans on Saturday.

Feuding brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher are expected to attend the premiere late on Saturday.

The premiere of "NAZA" -- about the Israeli forces' killing of civilians in Gaza -- by two Israeli directors looks set to be one of the most emotionally charged moments of the latter part of the September 2-12 festival next week.

Directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor won an Oscar for 2024's "No Other Land", which documented Israel's displacement of a Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank. - AFP