Motive Village: Past Controversies & Current Public Relations Nightmare

UPDATED: An announcement from Earth saying he’s dropping out of any future efforts regarding 2Moons3.

Creating a viable brand and maintaining this new brand’s value is not easy, especially when the brand is “2Moons”. Adapted from the BL Novel “Two Moon” by Author Chiffon_cake, Motive Village owns the popular book series’ rights and has recycled the storyline twice. However, does that give the management the right to randomly change its present cast of actors when the media outlet finds it difficult to handle them or encounters financial problems? Absolutely, it does indeed. Legally, MV can do what they want within the terms of their contract for rights to 2Moons. Unless clauses are included to protect the actors specifically, the actors are out of luck. Combined with the individual contracts signed by the actors themselves with MV, unless the contracts attempt to contravene Thai labor laws, the actors are again sort of stuck.  However, just because all of this bullshit that MV pulls on their crew of young actors is legal, it doesn’t mean it’s right. Unfortunately, the Thai BL industry is similar to any other entertainment business across the subcontinent and hides casting couch and other reputation-damaging controversies.

—Edited by TheFNGee

Today’s article is a summary that Psychomilk is publishing in an effort to bring to light the various alleged misdemeanors by this management company. That is rapidly gathering, manipulating, chewing, and spitting out the image and reputation of the actors they claim to “Manage.” It will be a long ride, so buckle your seatbelts as we take you on a ride and dig up allegations that have been hidden beneath the surface for too long or have gone dormant. This article is our attempt to bring you what we know behind the scenes as it is presented.

Where It Started: 2Moons

2Moons was where this story began, the first BL project helmed by Motive Village, which won worldwide appreciation. Although the adaptation was loosely based on the actual storyline and faced some criticism, the show launched the actors Bas Suradej, God Itthipat, Copter Panuwat, Kim Varodom, Tae Darvid, and Tee Thanapon into the limelight and instant stardom. 2Moons was produced in collaboration with CCDM, and the contract involved the six actors working together for three seasons. However, in 2018 citing problems with CCDM over copyright issues, MV announced that they would change the entire cast and cited issues with one of the main leads, God Ittipat.

This event happened after 2Moons2 was announced, and the auditions for the new cast were already complete. The original cast was miffed, and their management lashed out, complaining about being kept out of the loop. SBFive (that includes the five actors, excluding Ittipat) wasn’t under CCDM’s management, and the above statement was considered as having no basis in fact. The season one cast was effectively fired without prior notification. MV had several excuses, some of which were differences of opinions between the media outlet and CCDM, lack of money to buy to certain contracts (their supposed financial troubles never cease to exist). There were also rumors of rampant mishandling with some supporting cast complaining that they weren’t properly paid for their work on the series. All these issues didn’t stop MV from playing the blame game. The issue with God Ittipat was blown out of proportion, so much so that his management had to step in and take matters into their own hands. MV was properly called out, and they issued a somewhat half-assed apology for the miscommunication.

SBFive and God Ittipat have moved onto greener pastures. SBFive is currently being managed by Star Hunter Entertainment, which has carefully crafted and shaped their new image as actors and singers. Star Hunter trained them properly as singers, their singing careers were launched, and they’ve been successful. Their albums have racked up major sales, and they are highly popular on the Thai Pop Music Circuit. Not only that, but they also helped the actors in their acting careers. Bas Suradej went on to work in a slew of dramas and is a popular actor in the Thai BL industry. Following up on their teamwork, the group recently starred in Mello Network’s drama “Hotel Stars the Series.” Despite the lukewarm reception, the fact remains that the five members share a very warm friendship with each other, both onscreen and offscreen. They are seen at various events and in individual ones, registering their widespread popularity across the national and international borders.

Currently, Bas, Kimmon, and Copter are working on the first season of “Gen Y The Series,” and Tae with Tee will be a part of the Second Season. This is exactly what good management looks like!

Star Hunter Entertainment has managed to create and mold their actors into impressive personalities while ensuring they have ample job opportunities. Secondly, they have always strived to keep the team together; they started in 2017 and are still together. In today’s competitive world where Boybands’ have rabid ego problems, SBFive is a perfect example of a smooth working relationship. Certainly, management must be appreciated for guiding them on the right path.

2Moons2 Debacle

Despite the controversies surrounding their casting, the 2moons2 actors Benjamin Brasier, Earth Teerapat, Joong Archen, Nine Kornchid, Pavel Phoom, and Dome Woranart managed to win the hearts of critics, and fandoms were born and divided. MV resorted to building them as a brand that could be monitored and tightly controlled. We have to understand that apart from Dome (who has a different manager), MV’s remaining five are contract-bound. The contract details are obviously under wraps, and the actors have no other option but to follow suit to their demands. The popularity bought about by the second season cemented Motive Village’s attempts to bank on the fans’ desires and paved the way to worldwide fan meets and endorsements.

Thus began the arduous attempts to replicate SBFive’s popularity. In April 2020, MV announced the formation of a new Boyband, “OXQ,” with the exclusion of one of the actors, Earth Teerapat. The act was hugely criticized by Earth’s fandom and was met with critical resistance. However, vitriolic criticism didn’t deter MV from proceeding with their plans as they cited Earth’s “lack of chemistry with his co-star and absence of unique skill sets” as the major deterrent to his inclusion. MV’s somewhat petulant statement drew widespread outrage across the SixMoons fandom, where the majority of the fans showed their displeasure by rooting for Earth.

Although promises were made that Earth would be given other “satisfactory” jobs, the truth remains that he has been benched and jobless for the last six months or so. Rumors of a personal vendetta persist, and although both parties haven’t spoken out in some time, the fans are left to draw their own conclusions. Despite its humiliating outage from the Boyband, Earth has spent his entire time supporting his friends and drew additional support from the fandom. He also guided his fandom against any controversial comment posts, and for the time being, peace persists. The “OXQ” album was launched with much fanfare and received mediocre reception compared to SBFive’s albums. Another grossly handled debacle was the “Six Moons Trip to Taiwan,” worth approx US $1,060 per ticket. The event had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and although fans understood the reason, the company handled the situation poorly. Cancellations are rarely made without prior notice, and soon complaints arose that MV has allegedly used the Pandemic as an excuse to hold off issuing the refunds. There are still multiple fans who are still alleging that their refunds have yet to be remitted, and fans have received no further updates from MV.

You guys lying!!! Lying about the TRUE!!!
The FACT was you had to quarantine when you back to Thailand, but you said that you guys had to quarantine both in Taiwan and Thailand. 🤬🤬#freshfunfininTaiwan @motive_village @MotiveVillage @MOFA_Taiwan @Taiwan_CDC pic.twitter.com/7THs9hOqCX

— Shelly Pan (@shelly_sypan) September 5, 2020

'MOTIVE' trip is important, but your fans' lost trip to Taiwan is also important. Silence is more misleading.
What is our fault? The one we were going to travel with 6 moons? 47 fans are still suffering.
plz answer!@motive_village pic.twitter.com/P1rrjtXtwY

— lose0227 (@lose0227) September 25, 2020

After months of speculation on whether Earth was still a part of the 2Moons2 cast, MV suddenly announced another “World Y Live” event. The event started with major glitches, and it was said to have been only mediocre in quality. Despite the disappointment, the fans expressed joy because they finally caught a glimpse of Earth with the rest of the crew. The tickets for this event were highly-priced at ฿600-900 ($20-$29)

Present Situation

Amid all these ongoing controversies, it has been speculated that two of the SixMoon actors will participate in “Project I and Asia Super Young.” Project I is an idol training project done by NSMG (新湃传媒Chinese Entertainment which produced陈情令）in collaboration with Insight（Thailand Entertainment). For those unaware, NSMG is the worldwide distributor of the hugely popular “The Untamed” franchise and manages the boyband “The Untamed Boys.” These two actors from the SixMoons crew will be trained in singing and acting and will be provided with opportunities to work on major TV series. Knowing NSMG, the opportunities are nearly endless.

Rumors are now stating that likely it’s only  Joong Archen and Nine Kornchid will be participating in the Asia super young（亚洲少年团/亚洲超星团) Asia super young is a Boy Idol Compete Survival Program. The winners will be turned into a Boyband. Produced by popular Chinese Streaming Portal YOUKU and Alibaba, the boys will get the opportunity to be mentored by several high-powered names in the Asian Music industry.

Concerns arose when fans grew skeptical about the evident clash of their time schedules between their training for the contest and the production of 2Moons3. If these Joong and Nine are to train in China for this event, will the show be postponed indefinitely, and where does that leave the other four actors? These rumors and MV’s inability to deliver consistently on promises have created discord that is spreading through the fandom and creating major issues between the cast.

The Rebellion

Tired of being fed empty promises and outraged by their co-star Earth’s dismissal, Pavel Phoom and Benjamin Brasier finally took to social media to share some details about the current happenings inside MV. Although they used pseudonyms and didn’t point fingers directly, the message was loud and clear. They alleged that MV is playing favorites, which leave the remaining four of them with no job opportunities as they are still contractually bound to MV. They also bought to light the current financial troubles at MV, which might be why MV is resorting to marketing “J9” on such a grand scale.

The situation is getting out of control with Pavel and Ben being angry with Joong and Nine. The dynamics of the entire group has been critically damaged. Although Ben seems skeptical about the possible release from their contracts, Pavel is not ready to kowtow and cites recurring differences in their job opportunities – they want a way out of the contract. While this is happening, MV is still acting as if everything is fine and putting out promotional Tweets to quench the fire with thirst tweets.

Director Aam Anusorn tweeted about the possible favoritism amid this ongoing fire and put things into the right perspective. While the executives at MV still deny his statements, it’s obvious that the current situation will persist.

Here’s the latest update!
My assistant contacted that shitty company to let Emily come to play in my series (They didn’t know it’s my series) They said “No” immediately so my assistant ask again but this time for Natalie and they said “Yes”! 😩 This bullying, double standards

— A. (@AamAnusorn) October 6, 2020

Like Emily can’t do any job for some reason but for Natalie, they seem so interesting and want to let her work. I felt bad and I want to help Emily but the contract! . She can’t even move or get a haircut. That’s why her hair is longer than usual. Hope you get my message

— A. (@AamAnusorn) October 6, 2020

Despite the widespread divide, another point worth mentioning is that Joong and Nine are under the same contract as the others. The testament to this fact is that as soon as Benjamin Brasier’s Twitch Live concluded, Joong went live on his Instagram. Onlookers are suspicious of the timing and speculate that the Live was planned to dilute attention from the various issues Ben discussed in his Live. It’s obvious that MV is attempting to exert control over the boys and trying a “divide and conquer” policy. Most of the J9 social media lives are heavily monitored, and that’s something very easily seen.

At this moment, the Six Moons Camp stands divided with Pavel, Earth, and Ben and their mother’s meeting to discuss these issues. The details of these talks haven’t been revealed per se. Still, their ardent supporter and Rangsit University Professor Dr.Phunpiti Bhovichitra is trying to garner support with the Twitter hashtag #saveearthbenphoom. The hashtag has gone viral, and their individual and the SixMoons fandom well support the three actors. Parties involved are now discussing their future course of action. Psycho Milk will keep reporting on this issue as we come across more details. Keep watching this space to learn new facets of this controversy.

Acknowledgments

• Andrea (Twitter @c0ohearteu) for providing pertinent evidence for this article
• lose0227 (Twitter-@lose0227) for providing details related to Taiwan Trip Refund
• Ali (Twitter-@PandaxLi) for translating information regarding Project I and Asia Super Young