Baden-Württemberg – Leading Hollywood movie studio Universal Pictures was founded by Carl Laemmle, born in Laupheim. Even today, Baden-Württemberg continues to have a strong influence on many blockbuster movies. Take Volker Engel, for example: after graduating from the Ludwigsburg Film Academy, he went on to be an Oscar-winning special-effects supervisor for Independence Day in 1996. And the director of the movie, Roland Emmerich, was born in Sindelfingen.