The company, which is now working on its seventh film to be shot in the area, was one of the first to set up shop in Shreveport after Hurricane Katrina chased moviemakers out of New Orleans.

"I don't think any of us had an idea that we would ever find ourselves making hundreds of millions in film production in our little corner of Northwest Louisiana," Mayor Cedric Glover said during the ceremony just west of downtown Shreveport.

The city is leasing the land to the film company. Part of it was bought years ago for a park that was never developed. The city has also expropriated land to make way for the studio if it expands. The studio will begin with six and a half acres. They could expand to 20 acres.

The first two buildings, including the warehouse, should be up by the end of this year. The studio probably won't be ready until next April at the earliest.

Studio executives said they could hire up to 500 people, once the studio is up and running.

There are four film studios in Shreveport, although those are housed in empty warehouses. This is the first to be built from the ground up just for the movie industry.

The studio was lured to the area by tax incentives, Millennium's Michael Flannigan said.

Among the movies Millennium has filmed here are Blonde Ambition and Major Movie Star with Jessica Simpson; Mad Money with Katie Holmes, Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton; My Mom's New Boyfriend with Meg Ryan and Antonio Banderas; and Cleaner with Samuel L. Jackson.