Hollywood has its ways of courting stars, but Lance Oppenheim apparently prefers his pitches with a side of nicotine. While Primetime was made on a relatively tight budget of $14.5 million to $15 million, the filmmaker had a rather unusual incentive for Robert Pattinson in the form of 200 canisters of Zyn. For a theatrical thriller starring an A-list actor, that is certainly one way to sweeten the deal.

Forget champagne and lavish trailers, as Oppenheim’s Zyn-powered bribe to secure Pattinson for Primetime is a gloriously absurd casting reveal for this intriguing project.

Lance Oppenheim did not rely on the usual Hollywood playbook to get Robert Pattinson interested in Primetime. Speaking to Vulture, the filmmaker revealed that Pattinson was grappling with a want for Zyn at the time, making the pouch brand an unexpectedly useful bargaining chip. With supplies running short across the United States, Oppenheim found a rather creative solution to the casting challenge.

“Dear Chris Han-Zyn,” the letter by Lance Oppenheim said.

The director enlisted a friend in Canada to ship 200 canisters of Zyn directly to Pattinson’s home in Los Angeles. Oppenheim then delivered the latest draft of Primetime alongside a letter that opened with the now-infamous pun, blending Chris Hansen’s name with the nicotine brand. It was a personalized gift that doubled as a decidedly unconventional sales pitch.

The gamble that Oppenheim revealed to Vulture paid off when Pattinson called him after reading the revised script and agreed to take the role. The filmmaker compared the moment to LeBron James announcing his move to the Miami Heat, an amusingly grand comparison for a casting decision helped along by nicotine pouches. Apparently, sometimes the road to an A-list performance comes in a canister.

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Oppenheim apparently had to get creative after Pattinson initially turned down Primetime, only for Chris Hansen to find the portrayal deeply distasteful.

Robert Pattinson did not just need convincing to star in Primetime; the film needed convincing to become the kind of project he wanted to lead. Screenwriter Ajon Singh initially saw the actor sign on as a producer, only for Pattinson to refuse the central role. That changed during a late-night rewrite session at Pattinson’s Los Angeles home, where wine flowed and creative ideas took over.

Singh reportedly found himself typing notes on his iPhone inside Pattinson’s bathroom while the actor called out ideas from outside, reshaping the protagonist into something stranger and more theatrical. The resulting character blended the sensibilities of Jerry Maguire, Dracula, and Chris Hansen. With the script retooled to suit Pattinson’s tastes, Oppenheim still needed one final push: 200 canisters of Zyn.

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What do you think of Lance Oppenheim's creative way of luring in Robert Pattinson? Let us know in the comments!