Entertainment Value Associates GmbH (EVA) and acclaimed Visual Effects experts Volker Engel und Marc Weigert have teamed up to produce the family adventure „Raising Phoenix“. Volker Engel has previously been awarded with an Oscar for his outstanding Visual Effects in Roland Emmerich’s blockbuster „Independence Day“ and was as such the first German to win an Academy Award in this category. Accordingly, it does not come as a surprise that star-director Roland Emmerich took Engel and his Emmy Award-winning partner Marc Weigert on board to co-produce his latest blockbuster „2012“, with which he is aiming at a 2009 Sony Pictures release. „Raising Phoenix“ which is budgeted at 15 million $US, is scheduled to commence with its preproduction at the beginning of next year. Principal photography of „Raising Phoenix“ is thus planned for summer 2009. The pre-visualization of the film will already commence this year. Whereas some shooting days are scheduled in New York, the majority of the international production work will be carried out in and around Munich. “We are very proud to team up with Volker Engel and Marc Weigert and to realize “Raising Phoenix” with their professionalism, expertise and vision”, describes Kai-Roger Grüneke, CEO of EVA, this promising international cooperation. „Raising Phoenix“ is a fantasy family-adventure, in which 12-year old Bingham, who has, ever since his mother’s death, been staying with his aunt in New York, finds the mysterious egg that the shady scientist Nigel had lost before. With Bingham being about to spend the summer with his father in Germany, he quickly decides to smuggle the egg to Bavaria, knowing that his aunt would never allow him to keep the egg.