40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks

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 acre. The company's logo contains a circle with the icon "40a" and it has occasionally used a parody of/homage to 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, Levi, 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 for a three-year deal. Sam Kitt was named president of production at the Sony-based studio on June 18, 1997.

In 2008, the company moved its operations from DeKalb Avenue, where it had been since the mid-1980s, due to skyrocketing rent. The headquarters moved "around the corner" to a building on South Elliott Place still 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

Main article: Spike Lee 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)
• Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (2025)

References

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]].
3. Williams, Zelena. (February 28, 2014). "Spike Lee Rants About Gentrification In Brooklyn". Uptown Magazine.
4. (3 February 2021). "10 Actors Who Own Their Own Production Company & Its Best Project". Screenrant.
5. (1992-11-06). "'X' Marks the Spot of Controversy Over Spike Lee's Store".
6. Cummings, Carrie. (2015-02-10). "An Exclusive Tour of Spike Lee's Office at His Brooklyn Agency".
7. Flint, Joe. (2000-12-07). "NFL Enlists Spike Lee to Direct Ad Campaign to Boost Ratings - WSJ". Wall Street Journal.
8. "Nike resurrects Spike Lee’s Mars Blackmon in 50th anniversary campaign".
9. (1991-07-22). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: Advertising; Levi and Spike Lee Return In 'Button Your Fly' Part 2 (Published 1991)".
10. "What Happened to Ecko?".
11. Eller, Claudia. (1993-01-08). "ICM inks to represent Spike Lee".
12. Marx, Andy. (1993-03-04). "Lee gets a go for ‘Crooklyn’".
13. Cox, Dan. (1997-03-03). "40 Acres & A Mule to Col".
14. Cox, Dan. (1997-06-18). "Kitt tills Lee’s 40 Acres".
15. (2008-04-12). "It’s a wrap: Filmmaker Spike Lee’s Fort Greene HQ for sale • Brooklyn Paper".
16. "If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise".
17. Laws, Khalid. (2021-12-17). "Spike Lee signs multi-year creative partnership deal with Netflix".
18. Northrup, Ryan. (August 14, 2025). "Denzel Washington & Spike Lee Candidly Address The Limited Theater Release For Highest 2 Lowest". Screen Rant.