Aahana Swrup
Directed by Lance Oppenheim, ‘Primetime’ maintains a taut relationship with the source of its real-life inspiration. The film revolves around the making of the Dateline NBC reality TV series ‘To Catch a Predator,’ with Chris Hansen as the host. The story picks up with the series at the height of its success, an achievement that earns it the top primetime slot at the network. However, this also means that the stakes become higher than ever. As Chris and his crew find themselves competing on air with the best of the best that entertainment has to offer, the idea of a high-profile sting operation becomes more and more appealing.
Around the same time, Xavier Von Erck, founder of Perverted Justice, a vigilante group that works closely with the show’s production, becomes convinced that he can secure a subject with possible connections in public office. However, as Chris and his colleagues chase after success masked as social justice, they end up contributing to something sinister. Despite its controversial basis in real life, ‘Primetime’ retains many direct inspirations in reality. This includes its depiction of the online vigilante group and its founder.
The Real Xavier Von Erck Is Critical of His Primetime Counterpart
‘Primetime’ is attached to several prominent names in the entertainment industry, with Chris Hansen at the top of the list. The film presents a version of the real-life host, his reality TV series ‘To Catch a Predator,’ and even follows a storyline that is based on true events. Even so, director Lance Oppenheim’s approach to the project was far from biographical. Instead of trying to make a biopic, the filmmaker was more interested in using the popular series and its central host as vessels to explore overarching themes of social justice, the inherent voyeurism of television,n and the link between the two. Thus, while the title retains real-life influences, it doesn’t strive for biographical authenticity or accuracy.
The same is true for the character of Xavier Von Erck, who seems to be based on his namesake, the real Xavier Von Erck, co-founder of Perverted-Justice. The organization was founded in 2002 by Von Erck (born Philip John Eide) and his co-founder, Frank Fencepost. Initially, the Perverted-Justice website launched with the intention of sharing and shaming potential predators online. Eventually, Von Erck became more focused on actual legal arrests rather than just raising awareness. Thus, the founder and his organization started working with law enforcement authorities. Eventually, in 2004, Perverted Justice started working with local television stations, staging sting operations.
Soon enough, Von Erck and his organization were approached by multiple national networks for professional collaborations. Thus, they ended up working with Dateline NBC on their series ‘To Catch a Predator.’ Yet, while the film’s depiction of the organization and its co-founder’s involvement with the reality TV series is based on reality, Von Erck has accused the film of fictionalizing the character sharing his likeness. “I don’t regard ‘Primetime’ as being a movie made about the story of ‘To Catch a Predator’ because from what I know from watching the trailer and reading reviews of the movie, it seems like most of the details of the movie are absurdly inaccurate when it comes to my organization in particular.”
Von Erck further added, “It feels like an oddly and purposely malicious portrayal, especially of myself, given that every review I’ve seen that mentions the way they have portrayed me is literally something I did not do, things I never said, and places I never was ever even physically at. Frankly, I find it bewildering that they are using my legal name and semi-likeness while completely inventing every opinion, statement, act, and physical location that they portray me as in the movie.” The co-founder of Perverted Justice has also claimed that in real life he only spoke to the real Chris Hansen twice. Thus, while the on-screen character of Xavier Von Erck bears the same name and professional likeness as the real Von Erck, the latter has condemned the former as largely fictitious.
Perverted Justice Was a Real Organization That Worked With To Catch a Predator
Much like Xavier Von Erck, the depiction of his organization Perverted Justice in ‘Primetime’ also remains a blend of fact and fiction. The real-life organization ran operations that were structurally similar to its on-screen counterpart. Online volunteers posed as decoy minors, ranging from 10 to 15-year-olds with profiles on chat sites who waited for adults to approach them. Once the subjects solicited sexual contact with the perceived minors, the volunteers would fish for their personal information to be shared with law enforcement authorities. During their collaboration with ‘To Catch a Predator,’ they carried out sting operations in real life that were later televised.
At one time, the organization had 41,000 registered users who were dedicated to stopping sexual abusers and 65 volunteers who were trained to be chat room decoys. Only three members, including Von Erck, a law enforcement liaison and business manager, were salaried. While the group was active, it received some criticism for concerns about the nature and legal legitimacy of its operations. In turn, Von Erck maintained that prosecutors had never dropped charges against the individuals investigated by Perverted Justice. The organization claims more than 600 convictions and a 99.1% conviction rate. By 2019, the organization suspended all active operations.
Read More: Is Decoy Dan Based on a Real Actor? Where is Dan Schrack Now?
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