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40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks

40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks building
Industry	Film Television
Founded	1979; 45 years ago (1979)
Founders	Spike Lee Monty Ross
Headquarters	New York City
Area served	Worldwide
Subsidiaries	40 Acres and a Mule Musicworks Spike DDB
Website	40acres.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

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 m). 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. 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.

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

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. In 2021, the company had signed a multi-year creative partnership with Netflix to develop their film and television projects.

Filmography

Television

• A Huey P. Newton Story (2001)
• Good Fences (2003)
• When the Levees Broke (2006)
• Kobe Doin' Work (2009)
• If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise (2010)
• She's Gotta Have It (2017–19)
• NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021½ (2021)

References

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.

External links

• Official website

• 1979 establishments in New York City
• African-American cinema
• American companies established in 1979
• Black-owned companies of the United States
• Companies based in Brooklyn
• Film production companies of the United States
• Mass media companies based in New York City
• Mass media companies established in 1979
• Spike Lee