Ten to air AACTA Awards
Ten will broadcast the evening AACTA Awards on Wednesday January 30. The ceremony was last year broadcast on the Nine Network.
I Will Survive host and former Packed to the Rafters actor Hugh Sheridan will host the night with AACTA president Geoffrey Rush also to present an award.
The announcement:
Australia’s top film and television Awards are set to be broadcast on Network Ten, it was announced today.
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, a continuum of the Australian Film Institute Awards (AFI Awards) which have recognised screen excellence in Australia for 55 years, will be broadcast on Network Ten on Wednesday 30 January 2013.
AACTA also announced that much loved actor, performer and musician, Hugh Sheridan, will headline the televised show as Host, with the Awards held at the brand new Event Centre at The Star, Sydney.
AFI | AACTA CEO, Damian Trewhella, said that the new broadcast partner aligns with the objectives of the Australian Academy, now in its second year.
“We are delighted to have partnered with Network Ten, which shares many of our objectives. Network Ten has clearly stated and is enacting a commitment to producing quality Australian television, a commitment which sees the Network nominated for nine AACTA Awards across reality, drama and telefeature productions, including the critically and publically acclaimed series, Puberty Blues.”
Trewhella said that the new partnership with Network Ten also offered an opportunity to innovate the Awards show format, which will include great entertainment.
“The AACTA Awards are Australia’s highest peer-assessed screen Awards, which open many doors for Australia’s best screen practitioners both at home and abroad.
“Whilst it’s important that we continue to hold an appropriately prestigious event to honour this significant achievement, the Awards of the Australian Academy must be accessible to all.
“Australian TV drama and reality productions have dominated network schedules within the last year, and audience numbers have shown that Australians are hungry for quality local content. Equally, Australian cinema has been outstanding, with films such as The Sapphires achieving critical, audience and box office success.
“Therefore, this year’s AACTA Awards show will celebrate the film and television moments that have captured the nation’s imagination over the last year, whilst also providing outstanding live performances and light-hearted moments to entertain audiences in the room and watching at home. In the coming weeks we will reveal more about the show’s exciting line up of talent, headlined by one of Australia’s most popular performers, Hugh Sheridan.” Trewhella said.
AACTA President, Geoffrey Rush, who will also present at the AACTA Awards, said Sheridan is one of Australia’s rising talents.
“I have just spent five months with Hugh on ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ and I know he has proved himself to be a playful and frighteningly adventurous stage animal with a wisdom beyond his years. As Host at this year’s AACTA Awards in Sydney, Hugh not only brings his phenomenal vocal talents to the stage in our new show format, but also headlines an amazing array of new generation talent that Australia seems to consistently produce. Page 2 of 3
“The AACTA Awards are critical to Australia’s screen heritage, and it’s important that our Awards Ceremony is televised nationally so that all Australians can celebrate the role which film and television play in shaping our nation’s culture,’’ Rush said.
Hugh Sheridan said:“It’s a lovely moment when a hero, Geoffrey Rush, who you have admired growing up, gives you an opportunity like this. Every day I feel honoured to work in our Australian arts community, and to front the AACTA Awards is a gift I will relish.
“I acknowledge the bar set by former hosts of the AFI and AACTA Awards, including screen icons such as Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman and Geoffrey Rush, and I am delighted to be involved with a new show format which I hope audiences find entertaining, as we celebrate Australian talent and screen excellence.’’
Beverley McGarvey, Chief Programming Officer of Network Ten said: “It is a privilege for the network to be involved in honouring such a strong year of Australian film and television by broadcasting the AACTA Awards in January. The quality of local storytelling was outstanding in 2012, and was received by an enthusiastic Australian public eager for homegrown stories. The AACTA Awards celebrate these achievements and in the expert hands of Geoffrey and Hugh, we expect it to be a great night.”
Further announcements regarding talent presenting, performing at and attending the AACTA Awards televised on Network Ten will be made in the coming weeks.
Source: AACTA/AFI press release
