Amanda Meade – The Australian

ELEGANCE and simplicity may not be words that spring to mind when we think of the TV Week Logie Awards, but for executive producer Adrian Dellevergin, the words describe his masterplan for putting on a great show.

Dellevergin, a GTV Nine veteran producer and director, has been involved with the Logies since he was a stage hand working for the Nine Network in Melbourne at the age of 18.

For the past 16 years he has been a director/producer but this year he has been given the top job of executive producer of the biggest awards show on the entertainment calendar.

“The Logies is the premiere event in Australia,” Dellevergin says. “It’s our Academy Awards.”

Being EP is also the behind-the-scenes equivalent of being the Logies host — in terms of danger. It can be a poisoned chalice. If the awards fail to please, or rate, it’s all blamed on you.

Former Logies hosts Gretel Killeen and Wendy Harmer are still smarting from the criticism they got when they hosted the Logies. But the flip side is if you do it well — think fellow comedians Andrew Denton and Shaun Micallef — your efforts are lauded forever.

“I’ve been doing this show as a director since 1994 and I know it inside out. I know what it takes to be a good show,” Dellevergin says.

According to Dellevergin, simplicity, elegance and celebrating television — rather than sending up the industry — are key.

“I think what’s happened is Andrew Denton changed the face of the Logies and I was there as that unfolded,” he says. “He was brilliant. But since then they all tried to be like that. I think you can’t go back to what worked 10 years ago. It’s time now especially with Bert Newton as host that we should give it the class that we all expect.”

Newton will host the Logies solo for the 19th time this year. The last time he hosted solo was 1993, but he is always there in some form, usually stealing the show with his ad libs.

“I would hate to have to do a show like the Logies and be totally scripted,” he told TV Week. “I wouldn’t do it under those circumstances.”

Newton will be reunited with his long-time music director from Good Morning Australia, John Foreman, who is the music producer/director for the night.

“It’s more a celebration of television,” Dellevergin said. “I want everyone to be proud of this show. There will be none of that parody stuff, no making fun of each other. Denton did it in 1999 and 2000 and everyone’s tried to copy him since but it didn’t work.”

For the past four months Dellevergin and his team have been planning the Logies around Newton and the cast of TV stars, using a huge whiteboard to plot every award, act and red carpet move.

International guests were locked in, presenters were chosen and briefed while planning with Crown Casino, the networks, the media and the owners of the awards, TV Week, got under way.

But then the headline international act, Scottish singer Susan Boyle, cancelled. Dellevergin hit the phones and in a matter of days Canadian singer K.D. Lang was signed to appear.

Also appearing are John Mayer and Gabriella Cilmi and the cast of the Fame stage musical, which features in FOX8’s Fame: Ultimate School Musical, now showing on Foxtel.

“This show is so hard you get on the train and you don’t get off,” Dellevergin says. “You’re dealing with so many people, presenters — each segment is a show in itself.

“I’ve got a big board in front of me with all the segments and each one of them requires a producer. There are three or four presenters involved in each award and then there are the dancers. You’re dealing with the whole industry; all of the networks are involved.”

Dellevergin has one other change up his sleeve. He is not separating the red carpet show from the awards show, as is the tradition. And those interminable questions of “who are you wearing?” will be kept to a minimum.

“I wanted to make the Logies one show and include the red carpet,” he says. “Lisa Wilkinson and Karl Stefanovic will host the red carpet and throw to the room. We’ll count down to the Logies presentations, like the Academy Awards.

The 2010 TV Week Logie Awards airs on Sunday at 7.30 pm on Nine.