40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks

Background: This is the production company of director and actor Spike Lee, formed in 1979. It was named after an historical event where in 1865, General Sherman ordered the distribution of 40 acres lots to some freed black families on the Georgia coast, and also distributed some army mules.

1st Logo
(August 8, 1986-November 18, 1992)

Logo: On a black background, we is a circle, with a "4" inside, an "o" up right to the number, and an "a" down right to it. Below the logo are the words

A Forty Acres and A Mule Filmworks Production

Variant: The words were updated later to read

40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks YA-DIG SHO-NUFF

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Uncommon. Can be seen Do the Right Thing, She's Gotta Have It, School Daze, and Malcolm X, among others. The version without the logo appears on Jungle Fever.

Editor's Note: TBA.

2nd Logo
(May 13, 1994-)

Nickname: The Hammering

Logo: This is a spoof of the Mark VII Limited logo. On a wood background (in either gray or brown), a hand holding a stamper places it on the surface. With a hammer, it knocks the stamper and pulls it away, revealing the same logo from the previous logo. The company name, "BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY", "YA DIG" and "SHO NUFF" wipe in later.

FX/SFX: Live action and the animation of wiping.

Music/Sounds: Robot-like sounds, followed by a loud "BANG!". Sometimes, the wiping of the company name and all that jazz have "freezing" noises.

Availability: Appears on films by Spike Lee, like Bamboozled, Crooklyn, He Got Game and Love & Basketball.

Editor's Note: TBA.