Spike Lee production company
40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks , sometimes shortened to40 Acres , is an Americanproduction company founded by filmmakersSpike Lee andMonty Ross in 1979. It has produced all of Lee's films.
The company's name is a reference toforty acres and a mule , a section of military orders during theAmerican Civil War which stated that certain recentlyemancipated black families on theGeorgia coast were to be given some surplus army mules and lots of land no larger than 40 acres (160,000 m2 ).[ 1] Mark VII Limited logo.
The company has produced all of Lee's films, starting in 1986 withShe's Gotta Have It [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] Do the Right Thing Malcolm X
40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks has an advertising division with DDB called Spike DDB located inNew York City . They have doneSuper Bowl ,Nike ,Lay's , andEckō 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 withUniversal Pictures , which was reupped in September 1992, and stayed on for five years,[ 6] Columbia Pictures .[ 7] [ 8]
In 2004, the company moved all of its operations toNew York City with headquarters on South Elliott Place in theFort Greene neighborhood ofBrooklyn . In 2010, Lee's documentaryIf God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise Peabody Award .[ 9] Netflix to develop their film and television projects.[ 10]
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 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 Buena Vista Pictures July 30, 2004 She Hate Me Sony Pictures Classics March 24, 2006 Inside Man Universal PicturesImagine Entertainment Universal Pictures September 26, 2008 Miracle at St. Anna Touchstone PicturesRai Cinema 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 Legendary Entertainment Perfect World Pictures Focus Features (United States) (International) October 2, 2018 Tales from the Hood 2 Rusty Cundieff Universal 1440 Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment May 17, 2019 See You Yesterday Stefon Bristol Netflix June 12, 2020 Da 5 Bloods Spike Lee Rahway RoadLloyd Levin /Beatriz Levin Production October 6, 2020 Tales from the Hood 3 Rusty Cundieff Universal 1440 Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment October 17, 2020 American Utopia Spike Lee HBO Films Participant River Road Entertainment RadicalMedia HBO (United States/Canada) (International) August 15, 2025[ 11] [ 12] Highest 2 Lowest Escape Artists Mandalay Pictures A24 Apple Studios
^ Staples, Brent (July 21, 1997)."Forty Acres and a Mule" .The New York Times ^ Schartoff, Adam (August 10, 2012)."Get Out: Red Hook Summer Opens Today" .The New York Times the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved2014-03-01 . ^ Williams, Zelena (February 28, 2014)."Spike Lee Rants About Gentrification In Brooklyn" .Uptown Magazine . Archived fromthe original on 2014-03-01. Retrieved2014-03-01 . ^ Greif, Coby (3 February 2021)."10 Actors Who Own Their Own Production Company & Its Best Project" . Screenrant. Retrieved1 September 2021 . ^ Eller, Claudia (1993-01-08)."ICM inks to represent Spike Lee" .Variety . Retrieved2021-12-21 . ^ Marx, Andy (1993-03-04)."Lee gets a go for 'Crooklyn' .Variety . Retrieved2021-12-21 . ^ Cox, Dan (1997-03-03)."40 Acres & A Mule to Col" .Variety . Retrieved2021-12-21 . ^ Cox, Dan (1997-06-18)."Kitt tills Lee's 40 Acres" .Variety . Retrieved2021-12-21 . ^ "If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise" .The Peabody Awards . Retrieved2024-05-29 .^ Laws, Khalid (2021-12-17)."Spike Lee signs multi-year creative partnership deal with Netflix" .KOMO . Retrieved2021-12-21 . ^ Mondello, Bob; Holmes, Linda; Chazar, Alan (August 14, 2025)."A new Spike Lee crime thriller and more to see this weekend" .NPR . RetrievedAugust 15, 2025 . ^ Northrup, Ryan (August 14, 2025)."Denzel Washington & Spike Lee Candidly Address The Limited Theater Release For Highest 2 Lowest" . Screen Rant. RetrievedAugust 15, 2025 .
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