Singapore director Lee Thean-Jeen has been chosen for a movie on the independence of the city state in 1965, local daily Lianhe Zaobao reported on Friday.

Actor Tony Leung from Hong Kong, China, might play the young founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, it said.

Homerun Asia, which produces the movie, said on its website that the movie, 1965, is based on Lee Kuan Yew's struggle for the independence of Singapore.

"1965 is a political thriller focused on 90 tumultuous days in the year 1965, when racial and ideological differences saw violent clashes on the streets of Singapore, while political intrigue and conspiracy led to power struggles in the City Hall," it said.

The company also said that the movie will be "in the same vein as Western political thrillers such as 'Munich' and 'Empire of the Sun.'"

It will have a budget of 5 million U.S. dollars, and work on the production will start in September.

Responding to previous news reports that the movie will be directed by Hong Kong director Peter Chan, Homerun Asia said it is still in discussion over how Chan will be involved.

The company said it has not decided on the cast yet, but did not rule out the possibility of Tony Leung playing the young Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister of the city state. Actress Maggie Cheung might also play a role in the movie.

Asked whether the movie will be centered on the founding fathers of the city state, like the Chinese movie The Founding of a Republic, the company said it will not necessarily be centered around the role of Lee Kuan Yew.

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