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40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks

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40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
IndustryFilm
Television
Founded1979; 45 years ago (1979)
FoundersSpike Lee
Monty Ross
HeadquartersNew York City
Area served
Worldwide
Subsidiaries40 Acres and a Mule Musicworks
Spike DDB
Website40acres.com

40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, sometimes shortened to 40 Acres, is an American production company founded by filmmakers Spike Lee and Monty Ross in 1979. It has produced all of Lee's films.

History

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The company's name is a reference to forty acres and a mule, a section of military orders during the American Civil War which stated that certain recently emancipated black families on the Georgia coast were to be given some surplus army mules and lots of land no larger than 40 acres (160,000 m2).[1] The company's logo contains a circle with the icon "40a" and it has occasionally used a parody of the Mark VII Limited logo.

The company has produced all of Lee's films, starting in 1986 with She's Gotta Have It.[2][3][4] After the success of his films Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X, Lee expanded the company's brand by opening clothing stores featuring its merchandise.

40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks has an advertising division with DDB called Spike DDB located in New York City. They have done Super Bowl, Nike, Lay's, and Eckō Unltd. commercial spots. They have produced commercials and music videos in addition to Lee's films. The company established a music branch, used to designate records, 40 Acres and a Mule Musicworks in 1993.[5]

In the late 1980s, the company sought a partnership with Universal Pictures, which was reupped in September 1992, and stayed on for five years,[6] which lasted until March 2, 1997, when it was moved to Columbia Pictures.[7] Sam Kitt was named president of production at the Sony-based studio on June 18, 1997.[8]

In 2004, the company moved all of its operations to New York City with headquarters on South Elliott Place in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. In 2010, Lee's documentary If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise won a Peabody Award.[9] In 2021, the company had signed a multi-year creative partnership with Netflix to develop their film and television projects.[10]

Filmography

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Main article: Spike Lee filmography
Date Title Director Co-producer Distributor
August 8, 1986 She's Gotta Have It Spike Lee Island Pictures
February 12, 1988 School Daze Columbia Pictures
July 21, 1989 Do the Right Thing Universal Pictures
August 3, 1990 Mo' Better Blues
June 7, 1991 Jungle Fever
November 18, 1992 Malcolm X Warner Bros.
(United States)
Largo International
(International)
May 13, 1994 Crooklyn Universal Pictures
October 28, 1994 Drop Squad David C. Johnson Gramercy Pictures
April 19, 1995 New Jersey Drive Nick Gomez
May 24, 1995 Tales from the Hood Rusty Cundieff Savoy Pictures
September 13, 1995 Clockers Spike Lee Universal Pictures
March 22, 1996 Girl 6 Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Searchlight Pictures
October 16, 1996 Get on the Bus Columbia Pictures Sony Pictures Releasing
May 1, 1998 He Got Game Touchstone Pictures Buena Vista Pictures
July 2, 1999 Summer of Sam
October 22, 1999 The Best Man Malcolm D. Lee Universal Pictures
April 21, 2000 Love & Basketball Gina Prince-Bythewood New Line Cinema
August 18, 2000 The Original Kings of Comedy Spike Lee MTV Productions
Latham Entertainment 		Paramount Pictures
October 6, 2000 Bamboozled New Line Cinema
July 1, 2001 3 A.M. Lee Davis Prism Leisure Corporation
December 19, 2002 25th Hour Spike Lee Touchstone Pictures
25th Hour Productions
Gamut Films
Industry Entertainment 		Buena Vista Pictures
July 30, 2004 She Hate Me Sony Pictures Classics
March 24, 2006 Inside Man Universal Pictures
Imagine Entertainment 		Universal Pictures
September 26, 2008 Miracle at St. Anna Touchstone Pictures
RAI Cinema
On My Own Produzioni Cinematografiche 		Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
August 10, 2012 Red Hook Summer Variance Films
November 27, 2013 Oldboy Good Universe
Vertigo Entertainment 		FilmDistrict
January 25, 2015 Cronies Michael Larnell Circa 1978 Productions
February 14, 2015 Da Sweet Blood of Jesus Spike Lee Gravitas Ventures
December 4, 2015 Chi-Raq Amazon Studios Roadside Attractions
April 20, 2018 Pass Over Amazon Prime
August 10, 2018 BlacKkKlansman Blumhouse Productions
Monkeypaw Productions
QC Entertainment
Legendary Entertainment
Perfect World Pictures 		Focus Features
(United States)
Universal Pictures
(International)
October 2, 2018 Tales from the Hood 2 Rusty Cundieff
Darin Scott 		Universal 1440 Entertainment
Hood Productions, Inc. 		Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
May 17, 2019 See You Yesterday Stefon Bristol Netflix
June 12, 2020 Da 5 Bloods Spike Lee Rahway Road
Lloyd Levin/Beatriz Levin Production
October 17, 2020 American Utopia HBO Films
Participant
River Road Entertainment
Warner Music Entertainment
RadicalMedia
Todomundo 		HBO
(United States/Canada)
Universal Pictures
(International)

Television

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References

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  1. ^ Staples, Brent (July 21, 1997). "Forty Acres and a Mule". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Schartoff, Adam (August 10, 2012). "Get Out: Red Hook Summer Opens Today". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  3. ^ Williams, Zelena (February 28, 2014). "Spike Lee Rants About Gentrification In Brooklyn". Uptown Magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  4. ^ Greif, Coby (3 February 2021). "10 Actors Who Own Their Own Production Company & Its Best Project". Screenrant. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  5. ^ Eller, Claudia (1993-01-08). "ICM inks to represent Spike Lee". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  6. ^ Marx, Andy (1993-03-04). "Lee gets a go for 'Crooklyn'". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  7. ^ Cox, Dan (1997-03-03). "40 ACRES & A MULE TO COL". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  8. ^ Cox, Dan (1997-06-18). "Kitt tills Lee's 40 Acres". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  9. ^ "If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise". The Peabody Awards. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  10. ^ Laws, Khalid (2021-12-17). "Spike Lee signs multi-year creative partnership deal with Netflix". KOMO. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
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