By Aaron Lampley and Richard Lake | Originally published by Mississippi Today
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Jackson business owner and past mayoral candidate Charlotte Reeves is facing allegations of fraud in a lawsuit tied to development of a multimillion-dollar movie studio in Jackson – a project that has been stalled for years.
The studio was slated to start film production as early as October, but construction has not yet begun. Litter, overgrown foliage and decaying, collapsed buildings are the only structures on the land where the studios are proposed to be built.
A view of the proposed home of film production soundstages as part of a $250 million movie studio development in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Film production was announced to begin on this site as early as October, but construction has yet to begin. The development is led by Jackson business owner and multiple-time mayoral candidate Charlotte Reeves and out-of-state developer Theodore Holloway III. The decaying mill is the only structure that exists on the land. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today
Litter is scattered near the decaying mill on North Mill Street in Jackson, on Monday, April 6, 2026. Soundstages are proposed to take the place of the abandoned mill, but developers of the project said “snags” have delayed the demolition and construction process. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today
A view of the proposed home of film production soundstages as part of a $250 million movie studio development in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Film production was announced to begin on this site as early as October, but construction has yet to begin. The development is led by Jackson business owner and multiple-time mayoral candidate Charlotte Reeves and out-of-state developer Theodore Holloway III. The decaying mill is the only structure that exists on the land. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today
Abandoned mill buildings lie in ruins on North Mill Street in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Soundstages are proposed to take the place of the abandoned mill, but developers of the project said “snags” have delayed the demolition and construction process. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today
Abandoned mill buildings lie in ruins on North Mill Street in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Soundstages are proposed to take the place of the abandoned mill, but developers of the project said “snags” have delayed the demolition and construction process. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today
Abandoned mill buildings lie in ruins on North Mill Street in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Soundstages are proposed to take the place of the abandoned mill, but developers of the project said “snags” have delayed the demolition and construction process. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today
Abandoned mill buildings lie in ruins on North Mill Street in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Soundstages are proposed to take the place of the abandoned mill, but developers of the project said “snags” have delayed the demolition and construction process. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today
A view of the proposed home of film production soundstages as part of a $250 million movie studio development in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Film production was announced to begin on this site as early as October, but construction has yet to begin. The development is led by Jackson business owner and multiple-time mayoral candidate Charlotte Reeves and out-of-state developer Theodore Holloway III. The decaying mill is the only structure that exists on the land. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today
A view of the proposed home of film production soundstages as part of a $250 million movie studio development in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Film production was announced to begin on this site as early as October, but construction has yet to begin. The development is led by Jackson business owner and multiple-time mayoral candidate Charlotte Reeves and out-of-state developer Theodore Holloway III. The decaying mill is the only structure that exists on the land. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today
The decaying mill on North Mill Street in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Soundstages are proposed to take the place of the abandoned mill, but developers of the project said “snags” have delayed the demolition and construction process. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today
The decaying mill on North Mill Street in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Soundstages are proposed to take the place of the abandoned mill, but developers of the project said “snags” have delayed the demolition and construction process. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today
Broken pallets and overgrown grass cover the site of a proposed $250 million movie studio on Hooker Street in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today
A view of Hooker Street in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Developers for a proposed $250 million movie studio say the project could revitalize this area of Jackson. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today
A view of Hooker Street in Jackson on Monday, April 6, 2026. Developers for a proposed $250 million movie studio say the project could revitalize this area of Jackson. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today
Reeves is being sued by Los Angeles-based entertainment consultant and film studio owner Robert Schnitzer. Reeves – who ran unsuccessfully for mayor four times between 1997 and 2021– contracted with him in October 2025 to help launch her own studio and entertainment center, called Mill Street Studios, and he now says Reeves illegally terminated their contract and did not pay him for prior work.
According to the contract, Schnitzer would receive compensation for consulting services during development of the project. The payment would include a $350,000 lump sum, 15% equity ownership of Mill Street Studios and monthly payments from Reeves to cover “corporate expenses.”
Less than a full month into the agreement, Reeves sent a cease-and-desist letter to Schnitzer that declared the contract void. She accused Schnitzer of “deliberately” sabotaging pending deals and spending money intended for the studio on personal expenses such as commercial and residential rent, travel expenses and vehicle repairs.
Both Reeves and Schnitzer declined to talk to Mississippi Today about the lawsuit.
Mill Street Studios, also referred to as Movie Garden Studios, is a proposed 20-acre film studio and “entertainment destination.” Reeves has called the studio a lifelong dream of her and her husband, and she first registered the company in 2014.
In renderings of the center, the studio’s main plaza and backlot on Hooker Street, just a few blocks from the Capitol, would house the main facilities for film production alongside an onsite hotel, outdoor stage and cinema. An additional location on East Fortification Street about 2 miles away would reuse the old mill houses as soundstages.
The studio was originally slated for a late 2023 opening, according to a 2022 press release, but was later pushed to 2026. When asked in a March interview with Mississippi Today for an updated timeline, the studio’s current developer Theodore R. Holloway III declined to provide one.
While it is unclear how the lawsuit will affect the studio’s development, it may not be the only barrier blocking the project.
According to Reeves, “snags” have delayed the demolition process for the Mill Street location, but she told Mississippi Today in March that the remaining 15 acres were “just about totally clear.” When reporters visited the sites on April 6, however, they found piles of broken pallets, collapsed buildings and even old campaign signs for Charlotte Reeves’ husband, Carl Monte Reeves.
Holloway told reporters that cleanup efforts had already begun and may not be visible from public roadways when asked for comment about the condition of the remaining 15 acres on April 10. Reporters returned to the sites April 13 and found that the proposed location of the plaza had been mowed.
A view of land adjacent Hooker Street in Jackson on Monday, April 13, 2026. Developers for a proposed $250 million movie studio say the project could revitalize this area of Jackson. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today
“To your question regarding timing, any perceived delay is directly tied to ensuring that demolition and site work are completed in a manner that is compliant, safe, and aligned with the overall development plan,” Holloway said in an emailed statement.
It’s unclear where the money for such a massive project will come from. In an interview about the project, Reeves did not provide proof of funding, but said she herself has funded everything so far.
Nina Parikh is director of Film Mississippi, a state government office that works to promote growth of the film industry. She told Mississippi Today that she hopes the group can develop the proposed studio in Jackson, but that she has yet to see it happen.
“In the time that I’ve been here in the office, which has been 28 years, we’ve seen at least a dozen different proposals for spaces such as this,” Parikh said. “Obviously, none of those has come to fruition yet. Certainly they would be a good tool, but they are not the only tool.”
