You might have heard that a film called '1965' on the story of a very famous Mr Lee will be made. Here is 60 seconds with the director of '1965' Lee Thean Jean on his recent piece of work 'The Million Dollar Job', a telemovie that will be screened on Okto’s Director Showcase tomorrow (Sunday 25 March) at 10 pm.
Synopsis
History abounds with tales of the great museum heists, from the Louvre’s Mona Lisa heist of 1911 to the Gardner Museum, Boston, heist of 1990.
Kevin Ang harbours no such great ambitions following in the steps of these daring men: all he wants to do is steal a million-dollar smartphone prototype from Singapore’s Museum of Design so he can sell it to the highest bidder.
In order to do that, he enlists the help of three accomplices – Alvin the museum security guard, Khai a former Special Ops officer and Lisa, a tech expert who also happens to be his ex-girlfriend. Besides helping Kevin out with the heist, each of these individuals have a shared, and usually checkered, history with Kevin.
60 Seconds with Lee Thean Jean
What sets this telemovie apart from everything else you’ve ever made?
Thean-jeen (TJ): What sets this movie apart from all else is the sheer number of action sequences!
There is a long extended museum heist scene; there are fights in coffeeshops, fights in the house, fights in the pool... the number of fighting and action scenes are more than I’ve ever done in any TV production or film. The movie also has lots of different elements of conflict, betrayal, drama, comedy and family issues. That’s something new and unique I feel, and something I’ve never done before, at least not of this genre.
Tell us something about yourself that other people don’t know.
TJ: I’ve never watched anything I’ve done after I’m done doing it, unless it’s for a screening or something that is on television!
If you were a character in this telemovie, who would you choose to be, and why?
TJ: If I were a character from the movie... I’d like to be Keagan Kang’s character (Kevin Ang), because I always wanted to be psychotic.
Here's the trailer:
About Lee Thean Jean
Thean-jeen is one of the most prolific and acclaimed writer-directors working in the Singapore independent production industry today, having written, directed, edited and overseen more than a hundred hours of award-winning television and film since 2000.
His productions have been honoured several times at the prestigious Asian Television Awards over the years – AlterAsians (Best Single Drama or Telemovie, 2000); The Singapore Short Story Project (Best Drama Series, Best Cinematography, 2003); The Other (Best Single Drama or Telemovie, 2008); and The Pupil (Best Drama Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Best Drama Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Direction Commendation, 2010).
But perhaps his most anticipated film is the upcoming 1965: The Beginning, a political thriller set in the year of Singapore’s independence, and centred around former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
About Okto’s Director Showcase
Launched in 2009, okto’s Director Showcase is an initiative by the channel to work with some of the most exciting names in Singapore’s filmmaking scene. It offers these filmmakers a television special in which they are encouraged to explore a genre, theme or format that they have not pursued before. Since its inception, it has featured works by renowned filmmakers Jack Neo who debut his first English drama series Happily Ever After (2009), and Royston Tan, who had showcased his first TV feature – The Birdsong Trilogy (2010) .
All above information courtesy of Mediacorp Pte Ltd