Poisoned chalice? Julia Morris favours ‘host-less’ Logies
No host, no knifing says Julia Morris. "There’s no one person to hang it on."
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After her successful co-hosting of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! she would be a prime candidate to host the Logie Awards, but Julia Morris favours a host-less event.
Morris, who co-hosted the Logie nominations for TV Week last year, acknowledges the role is often referred to as a ‘poisoned chalice.’
“I wonder if people say that thinking they won’t do a good job of it? Even I’ve used it thinking ‘If I’m bad at it at least I can say it’s a poisoned chalice,'” she recently told TV Tonight.
“Whoever is going to put themselves up for that flaming is going to go down in a blaze of glory. There doesn’t seem to be as big a knifing of the Logies when there are lots of people from lots of different networks doing it.
“There’s no one person to hang it on.
“Gretel Killeen? Knifing. Wendy Harmer? Knifing. Anyone who has hosted it individually…. although I loved Shane Bourne. Andrew Denton did a beautiful job of it. And Bert all those years.
“I wonder if it has to be somebody who has been around for so long that people feel they want to love and respect. Where everyone is quiet in the room and they listen because they admire them? There’s not a lot of young people that fit into that category.
“The Logies is a funny old thing where you need to love it as well as make fun of it.
“That’s a really hard balance to strike.”
The last solo hosting was by Shane Bourne in 2011. No host has been announced for this year’s event, to be broadcast on Nine in May.
“I love the idea of it being a collegiate effort. It’s not about one network, it’s across the board. I would love to open the Logies with a song making fun of the entire industry, but I don’t think the networks are ever going come into line to allow people to do that.”
It was Logies producers who first paired Morris together with Dr. Chris Brown, first as 2013 presenters, then as joint hosts of the 2014 nomination announcement. It was a chemistry that led to their casting as hosts on I’m a Celebrity for TEN. It was a pairing that served the reality series well.
“I don’t think anybody realised that Chris and I were going to gel as much as we did. There was a real symmetry between us. He’s just a beautiful man,” she said.
But even with all her on-screen flirting with the hunky Bondi Vet some viewers began to question if it was inappropriate. What if the genders were reversed? Morris laughs off the suggestion.
“Don’t you love it? Darl, those genders were reversed for about 800,000 million years. So whatever the Doctor is doing to help write those jokes is ok by me.”
After only a three day break she is hard at work on Season Four of Nine’s House Husbands.
“I’m hoping there’s a bit more smooth sailing for my character and her family. Last season I think I cried for 6 months, so it will be refreshing to have some fun stories unfold,” she continues.
“There are heaps of new cast members, stars from other series and lots of Australian actors who I really can’t wait to work alongside. It means I get to learn new stuff.
“Still being reasonably new to the genre it’s good to watch how other people work.”
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14 Responses
I think they really need a single or duo host/s, it runs much more smoothly, it seems disjointed when it’s shared out between lots of people.
Rebel Wilson would be fun. I also think Julia Zemiro would be great and Adam Hills does everything well, he handled it beautifully when he was one of the ‘multi-hosts’. Sean Micallef would be terrific as well and I always love Hamish and Andy doing anything at all so that would be cool, they would do a good job.
Give Greg Evans another go!!! Lol.
What about someone like Daryl Somers to host the event again? Maybe the combination of Daryl and Bert would be entertaining for the evening?
The writing is terrible. That’s the problem, no matter the host (or lack thereof).
Maybe would be better as a co-host situation. If they wanted someone from Ch 9 with her rather than Dr Chris, what about David Campbell? I think they’d gel well, and he can sing as well
David Campbell would be great, he’s fun and entertaining. I think it would be good if he was paired with a female, as you suggested maybe Julia. Sonia Kruger of course would be natural pairing with him but then it might look too much like a channel 9 promotion.
You need to have a host. Much prefer it that way.
I prefer a host too. Having Bert at the Logies, Ricky at the Golden Globes gives the event character. I couldn’t tell you the difference between 2012 and 2013 Logie ceremonies.
I’d like to see Bert host, or co-host just one more time.
the problem that Gretel and Wendy had was they tried to hard to be funny, but you are right David, with respect comes the ability to make fun of people and get away with it. all the Logies need is someone to open the show say a few industry jokes, a few digs then move on to the awards.
I never used to like her at all, but her stint on I’m a Celebrity has made me like her. The partnership with Chris helped a lot.
I don’t think it is the hosts that let the show down but the jokes! They are usually terrible and just plain old unfunny and trying to make ‘in’ jokes on fellow celebrities in the audience never comes off! Unless they write their own jokes, they need to get new joke writers!
I love her and also think she’d do a very good job of hosting the Logies.
I prefer it when there isn’t a host all night but you do still need someone to open the show and then just have the same person close it. All the other presenters can do their duties throughout.