Plan for Logies to anchor month-long Gold Coast screen festival

GOLD Coast film and TV stakeholders hope to build a month-long celebration of the city’s screen industry around the TV Week Logie Awards from next year.

GOLD Coast film and TV stakeholders hope to build a month-long celebration of the city’s screen industry around the TV Week Logie Awards from next year.

TV’s night of nights will be broadcast live from The Star Gold Coast on Sunday for the first time after the State Government poached the event from Melbourne.

The 2018 awards gala was pushed back from April to July this year to avoid it clashing with the Commonwealth Games — a move that caused headaches for the major networks and some of their biggest stars, who often head off on holidays at this time of year.

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Five of this year’s six Gold Logie nominees — Grant Denyer, Tracy Grimshaw, Amanda Keller, Rodger Corser and Jessica Marais. Foxtel’s Andrew Winter is also in the running for the top award. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England.

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The move to July 1 also saw this year’s 60th annual awards ceremony fall on the same weekend as the Gold Coast Marathon — a situation stakeholders are eager to avoid next year.

Logies owners Bauer Media are expected to review the inaugural Coast event following Sunday’s telecast with a view to returning the ceremony to March/April again from next year.

The date change would see the Logies rolled out the same month the Gold Coast traditionally hosts film and TV-themed events including the Supanova Comic Con & Gaming Expo at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, the hugely popular Cosplay Parade through the streets of Broadbeach and the Gold Coast Film Festival.

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Kate Jenkinson, from the TV drama Wentworth, on Burleigh Beach for the launch of voting for this year’s 2018 TV Week Logie Awards. Picture: Adam Head

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Sources have told The Bulletin Bauer Media and TV Week have no objections to the city building a month-long event around its annual awards showcase.

“Council, the Government, tourism leaders, Bauer Media and Channel 9 have been involved in talks about making March/April a film and TV month for the Gold Coast,” a source told the Bulletin.

“There’s also been discussion about the Gold Coast Music Awards and the Surfers Paradise LIVE Festival (held in the first week of May this year) being held as part of it all.”

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk helped the city poach the Loge Awards from Melbourne. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

More than 30,000 people turned out to see TV stars including Dr Who’s Peter Capaldi at this year’s Gold Coast Supanova — the first event at the convention centre following the Commonwealth Games.

The State Government hinted at the plans in its Advance Queensland Screen Industry 10

-Year Roadmap and Action Plan, tabled in State parliament earlier this month.

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The document outlines plans to expand the global reach of the local film, TV, online and gaming creative industries by fostering “a pipeline of events to showcase Queensland’s screen industry” including hosting the TV Week Logies from 2018 to 2022 and “using this platform

to raise the profile of the Queensland screen industry”.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told the Bulletin last week the State’s screen industry was not only ‘vibrant’ — it was continuing to “grow from strength to strength”.

“Since 2015, our share of Australian production has risen from 3 per cent to 33 per cent, due in large part to the industry focused on the Gold Coast,” she said.

Film and TV stakeholders are eager to help the industry capitalise on publicity Logies stars such as Matty J from the Living Room will help generate for the Gold Coast. Picture: Adam Head

Presenters at Sunday’s Logies will include Hamish Blake and Andy Lee, Dr Chris Brown, Julia Morris, Shaun Micallef, Edwina Bartholomew, Georgie Gardner, Rebecca Maddern, Richard Wilkins, Carrie Bickmore, Asher Keddie, Robert Irwin, Marta Dusseldorp, Scott Cam, Deborah Mailman, Georgie Parker, Ryan Johnson, Abby Earl, Shane Jacobson, Todd Sampson, Rob Collins, Virginia Trioli and Bernard Curry.

Gold Logie nominee Tracy Grimshaw at the TV Week Logie Awards Nomination Party at The Star Gold Coast last month. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England.

Grammy Award-winning British star Jess Glynne, British R & B singer Dan Caplen and Brisbane’s Conrad Sewell will also perform live as part of the telecast.

Live voting across each of the Most Popular categories, including the Gold Logie, has reopened online and will stay open until the end of the red-carpet telecast at 7.28pm on Sunday.

TV WEEK editor Thomas Woodgate says the new live voting system for the 10 popular categories will make for an exciting race to the finish line.