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Logies Q&A: It takes a TV village…

Exec Producer Brent Williams gives his insight into putting together TV's night of nights.

TV Week Logie Awards Executive Producer Brent Williams has once again taken time out from his super-busy schedule to give an insight into the planning, manpower behind the scenes.

Everyone had a great time on the Gold Coast last year. Now that you have one under the belt in the new home, what changes are you looking at for this year?
BW: The Gold Coast turned on a great party last year. With a new venue and new event partners it was a pretty intense build up to last year’s Logies but it all went off without a hitch. I think everyone involved will be better for the run and we have managed to iron out a few little kinks for this year so hopefully it will be another great night for everyone attending and watching at home. One of the things we introduced last year was comedy legend Tony Martin doing the live voice overs in the room. I’m very pleased to say Tony will be returning as the voice of the Logies again this year.

Dave Hughes will be sorely missed as the opening act. Having set the bar high, how do you approach a replacement? Any hints on whom?
BW: Dave has been phenomenal on the Logies for a long time. Not just since he’s been opening but for many years before that. He genuinely loves the event and works so incredibly hard on his opening monologues. He will be missed this year but as they say, it gives someone else the opportunity and there has been no shortage of willing candidates, all of whom would do an outstanding job! You’ll notice I avoided the question about ‘any hints on whom?’

In terms of numbers, what kind of manpower does it take to run an event of this scale?
BW: Literally hundreds. I was actually reading through the broadcast credits list the other day and it never ceases to amaze me the amount of people involved to pull the night together. They all work extremely hard and are passionate about what they do. The TV broadcast is only one element though, there are hundreds more working on the event side of things from the dedicated team at Bauer, to the team at Star, publicists, logistics teams, construction etc… the list goes on.

How do you ensure all networks are represented on the night, and what kind of behind the scenes liaison does this entail?
BW: We have great support from all the networks. We are constantly in touch with them about who is attending, who is available to present, who is walking the red carpet etc.. From those attending, we then lock in presenters who we feel are best suited to each award, after which there is consistent dialogue with the networks around scripting and requirements for each individual presentation.

Is it difficult to finalise the In Memoriam list, given some US shows have been criticised for leaving names out?
BW: It is extremely difficult. It’s one of the hardest things we have to do each year because the unfortunate reality is that we can’t include everybody. We work closely with TV Week and compile an extended list for their website so that everybody is recognised for their contribution to our industry.

Has anybody ever declined the chance to hand out the Gold Logie?
BW: Ummm…not that I can remember. Everyone we have asked has always graciously accepted and understood that it’s quite an honour to be handing out the main award of the night.

Who is still on your wish list?
BW: I’m sticking with Ricky Gervais and Seth McFarlane if they happened to have some free time. I also wouldn’t say no to Springsteen if he was available to perform.

Any final thoughts?
BW: Enjoy the show!

TV Week Logie Awards Red Carpet 7pm / Ceremony 7:30pm Sunday on Nine.

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