Plans to leverage Logies to boost film, TV, tourism and even AFL’s fortunes on Gold Coast
The new kid on the Logies block, the Gold Coast, has exceeded expectations and defied its critics to help take the 60 year old TV Week Logie Awards to another level. And we’re not done yet.
Entertainment
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AND the Logie for best newcomer goes to … the Gold Coast.
The new kid on the Logies block, the Gold Coast, has exceeded expectations and defied its critics to help take the 60 year old TV Week Logie Awards to another level.
And we’re not done yet.
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Channel 9 Queensland and NBN Northern NSW managing director Kylie Blucher said plans to grow the Gold Coast TV Week Logie Awards into a festival of ideas and inspiration had progressed much faster than anyone could have predicted.
“We’re already ahead of the game,” she said.
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“We’ve managed to much, much more quickly than I ever planned turn the Logies into a wider industry event.
“What’s been pleasing is how quickly and organically things are already moving.”
The Logies are part of a long-term plan to secure a greater slice of the $1.2 billion in production revenue and 20,000 jobs generated by the independent film and TV industry in the 2017 calendar year for Queensland — and the Coast.
The figures were revealed in a Deloitte Access Economics study commissioned by Screen Producers Australia (SPA), one of the Gold Coast Logies’ presenting partners.
Stakeholders including Bauer Media, Nine, Tourism and Events Queensland, Destination Gold Coast and council have worked with Village Roadshow, Screen Queensland (SQ) and SPA to ensure the local industry leverages itself from the awards and to grow the ceremony into the centrepiece of a potential month-long festival style event.
“It’s big business and we want it to get bigger,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
It’s why SQ CEO Tracey Vieira joined some of the country’s leading producers and content creators on a locations tour of the Coast and the world-class facilities at Village Roadshow Studios on Saturday.
“This is an exciting opportunity to showcase our creative screen talent while the ‘who’s who’ of Australian television is right here on the Gold Coast,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Logies Hall of Fame great Bert Newton, who celebrates his 80th birthday in a couple of weeks, said while he was not initially in favour of the awards’ move north, the Gold Coast had won him over.
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“First up I was disappointed that Melbourne was going to lose the Logies,” he said, adding that he was still recovering from pneumonia.
“I think a lot of people have forgotten they didn’t begin in Melbourne — the first ones were done in Sydney on a very small scale.
“I was disappointed but seeing what I’ve seen tonight and seeing the preparation throughout the day when I was here I think the venue is great and the reaction of the crowd has been terrific and coming from Melbourne, it’s warm.”
Ms Blucher said the State Government knew the Logies was a fantastic event that had been going for 60 years but had worked hard to develop the celebration into “what it could be”.
“So they decided to bring industry together and celebrate all these great things that are going on with the Stan event on Saturday and the industry panel discussions on Friday and Saturday,” she said.
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“There was an invitation that came to us through the council, who want to promote film and TV on the Gold Coast, asking what else can we do?
“So we went out and had a look at the studios at Village Roadshow — with Nine’s head of content Adrian Swift and head of programming Hamish Turner — we went out there to see what their facilities were and talk about minds blown.
“They’re really excited about what’s there and this triggers ideas,” she said.
Ms Blucher said having the opportunity to present the quality of our facilities to the decision makers and show off the calibre of local crews would no doubt lead to future opportunities.
“That’s what our guys saw,” she said.
Gold Coast independent actress and producer Anne Waters-Massey said hosting the Logies had already proven a wonderful opportunity to showcase the state of the art studios and locations the Coast has to offer.
“SQ have been a driving force in highlighting Queensland and hosting events where us filmmakers were able to meet and network with industry professionals at the panels held this week,” she said.
“Networking with professionals helps me move forward, build contacts and be seen as an equal in the industry.”
Footy also plans to leverage the Logies to kick goals next year — particularly if the awards return in April.
Gold Coast Suns chairman Tony Cochrane said the AFL and the Logies were also “a really good tie in” for the club.
“Having the Logies is really good for the Gold Coast,” he said.
“A good lot of TV crew are AFL fans. We want to play a Melbourne or Sydney team at home on Logies weekend. It works really well for creating a great weekend.”
Logies stars Sandra Sully, Eddie Maguire and Richard Wilkins and Hollywood star Matt Damon (“he’s a Suns follower now,” Mr Cochrane said) all watched the Suns Vs Collingwood clash at Metricon on Saturday.
“A lot of people came up a day early to go to the game,” Mr Cochrane said.
“Most of them love to escape the gateway to hyperthermia which is Melbourne.”
Collingwood president Eddie Maguire said he had already discussed synchronising the AFL draw and the Logies next year.
“I’ve already had conversations with Tony (Cochrane) about what I think the AFL should be doing, which is going back to the traditional game between Collingwood and Brisbane on the Thursday before Easter and for this game to be Gold Coast Vs Collingwood on the Logies and make it a big occasion,” he said.
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“It’s a great opportunity for Victorians to know — and particularly those who travel, to the Collingwood people — to come up here and fill every hotel room and make it a big tourism play for the Queensland Government. The AFL are willing to do it and certainly the Brisbane and Gold Coast clubs are willing to do it so it could work really well.
“What we’ve done before when people know they can time their travel with the school holidays, it’s the trip to get it all happening.”
The benefits the Logies — one of the year’s highest-rating television events — brings the Coast economy will be broad and ongoing — particularly when it comes to tourism.
“Thanks to this mega-event weekend, Gold Coast restaurants, hotels, tourism operators and other traders will be abuzz hosting celebrities, competitors and visitors from around the nation and the globe,” Tourism Minister Kate Jones said.
Andrew Bell, CEO of Ray White Surfers Paradise, said some of the TV industry’s most famous faces already owned property on the Coast — and the Logies would no doubt attract more of them to invest here in the future.
“We’ve got quite a few based here already — Baby John Burgess and Paul Vautin,” he said.
“Most of them come here with some regularity, like Karl Stefanovic.
“To me this is a transition year, a bit of a “oh, we’re used to being in Melbourne” year.
“I think people will embrace it fully from next year. For many of them, it will be another reinforcement that it was a sensible idea to move the Logies here.”
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