#am i still bitter that he gave up nadao to produce tpop groups? a little but i guess it paid off since he manages the most popular bg atm

[clairedaring]

2019 Interview Excerpt with Director Songyos Sugmakanan/CEO of artist management/production company Nadao Bangkok, now relaunced as Tada Entertainment

Notable points from the interview

P'Yong got asked by Jina Osothsilp, CEO of GDH 559 (then GTH) to lead the artist management company that were signing actors who had starred in GTH/GDH films.

P'Yong initially refused but eventually gave in to help Khun Jina under the condition that they have a production house so he can continue fulfilling his filmmaking desires.

After directing Coffee Prince Thai remake for True4U, P'Yong got asked by Paiboon Damrongchaitham, Founder of GMM Grammy (the giant media conglomerate that houses GDH 559, One 31, GMM 25, GMMTV...) to make a series for One31.

It's hard for artists who are signed to GTH/GDH/Nadao to get in-house works because when they make films, directors are constantly finding (new) actors who are suitable to the given roles in strict casting procedures, hence there are less works guaranteed for actors who are signed with them.

P'Yong started training his actors (rigorously) so that they were capable to get cast and play in the roles that were written by GTH/GDH/Nadao creatives.

P'Yong is determined in his vision to bring contemporary portrayal of teens to Thai TV at the time, even if it meant touching upon controversial themes like sex, teen pregnancy, drugs, school violence, LGBTQ+... (personally speaking, I feel like you can also see this mindset of filmmaking in his junior colleagues like Boss Kuno, Pat Boonnitipat)

P'Yong drew from the experiences of his young cast members as well as based his characters on real teenagers he inteviewed and got to know to understand their ways of thinking.

[SPOILER ALERT] Mhog's father dying in season 2 as a result of cancer, leading Mhog to quit smoking storyline is the result of the feedback from the Thai Health Promotion Foundation who reached out and showed appreciation Hormones The Series for their depiction of safe sex with protection but also said that the smoking scenes of Pai in S1 had intervently inspired a group of young male audience to start smoking.

P'Yong constantly tracks online engagement with his works and he's found that he has a love for keeping viewers on the edge of their seat -> hence the suspense and murdery mysteries/plot twists in his future works I Hate You, I Love You (2016) and In Family We Trust (2018).

Althought In Family We Trust is the best ratings among all Nadao projects, it's still considered low for One31. P'Yong admits that he gets it because his style of series making requires full concentration, Netflix-style of binging attention so it might not help if it's filled with commercial breaks in between.

At the end of this interview is short clips of the promotional marketing planning meeting for Great Men Academy and Great Men Academy Press Conference.

[Full interview with English subtitles]

and if you've ever caught Tor Thanapob, gushing about any director in any his interviews, it's always the one and only P'Yong