A View From My Chair 022625

A View From My Chair

by Mike Stafford, Chairman of the Board 2025
February 26, 2025

Wickedly Good?

I was wandering through Universal CityWalk recently and entered one of the stores featuring Harry Potter, the smash hit for Universal Studios that is still going strong at their theme parks 8 films later. Now there’s a new movie franchise ready to share the stage with Harry.

The Academy Awards are this weekend and the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked is up for Best Picture and 9 other categories. Universal Studios Hollywood has been cashing in on the film’s success as has its sister locations in Orlando, Japan, Beijing, and Singapore. Imagine how Universal will cash in even more if it wins.

In a Wall Street Journal article entitled Inside Hollywood’s Big Wicked Gamble, Universal’s Chief Marketing Officer Michael Moses talked about their marketing philosophy so far, "We're going to be just short of obnoxious…"

The newspaper said test audiences were reminded of the magic and boarding school setting of Harry Potter. The New York Times quoted Universal Studios Theme Park Chief Tom Woodbury saying, “When I saw it, my first reaction was, ‘This is a theme park waiting to happen,’” he said. Wicked is a prequel of sorts to the 1900 book and 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, but it is based on a book from 1995 that re-examines the life of the Wicked Witch of the West.

All the talk of Wicked got me to thinking about sequels, prequels, and episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. In fact, Wicked is really Wicked 1 with Wicked 2 coming out later this year.

With the long-established sequel and its younger cousin the prequel, Hollywood has been criticized for its lack of originality. I understand it is about money. Ride the wave as far as you can. Sequels and prequels generally do not do as well as the originals and often are dismissed, but, you know what? They can be fun and fill a human need to know our beginnings.

I remember when Star Wars was just 1-2-3, but now my 1-2-3 is 4-5-6. To newer generations, they only know the new order and that’s fine. Maybe it is the “correct” order after all. It reminds me of when NBC-TV would do summer reruns under the banner “Its New to You Summer.”

We are fascinated by origin stories, whether it is our American founding fathers and the values that led them to try self-government or the harddriving capitalists of the 19th century and what drove them to want to be the richest man in the world. So why not know the backgrounds of our favorite fictional characters on film or streaming?

And we’re a society of second chances. Prequels used to focus on good guys but lately it is the traditional villains that are being revisited. Better Call Saul tried to show the Saul of Breaking Bad really was not that bad and was the Wicked Witch of the West really that Wicked?

So here’s to the sequel, the prequel, the origin story, Wicked, and the almighty dollar because as Donna Langley, Chief Content Officer and Chairman of NBC Universal Studio Group told the Wall Street Journal, “Wicked is the holy grail. When you have one, you grab hold of it. And you maximize it.”

NY Times
Yahoo
Screen Crush
Slash Film

BIZ NEWS OF THE WEEK  

Amazon – James Amazon – Amazon’s MGM Studios will be getting creative control over the James Bond franchise. CNBC

Bakeries Rising Prices – If egg prices do not come down, bakery items may go up.
CNN

Happy Birthday Chu-rro – Instead of cake, why not churros for your next birthday?
Nation's Restaurant News

​UCC UPDATE

State of the County Luncheon – March 5 (Porter Ranch Country Club)
LAPD Captains Luncheon – April 2 (CBS Radford Studios)
Inspirational Women’s Awards Luncheon – May 8 (nominations due March 3) 

CHAMBER HIGHLIGHTS

Burbank (burbankchamber.org)
March 5 – Ribbon Cutting – Conquer All Things Gym 4:30pm
March 12 – Monthly Coffee Chat featuring Poquito Mas CEO 
 
Calabasas (calabasaschamber.org)
March 11 – Community Education Forum 9am Zoom Dr. Jennifer Aguilar,
Principal Louisville HS.
March 18 – Ribbon Cutting – Logix Credit Union 5 year Anniversary
Celebration 23741 Calabasas Rd. #B, Calabasas 4:30-6:30pm.

Filipino-American (faccgla.org)
March 22 – President’s Cup Charity Golf Tournament Los Robles Green Golf Course 12-7pm. 

Granada Hills (granadachamber.com) 
Ongoing – Farmer’s Market Fridays

North Valley Regional (northridgechamber.org)
April 23 - Heroes in Education Gala

Northwest Valley (chatsworthchamber.com)
March 8 – Tacos and Bingo Los Toros Chatsworth 6-10pm

Panorama City (panoramachamber.com)
March 11 - Next Monthly Meeting at U.S Bank 14500 Roscoe.

San Fernando City (facebook.com/sfcitychamber)
City of San Fernando Small Business Assistance Program application period open thru March 12.

San Fernando Outdoor Market 2025 Market Dates
* Free To Attend
• February to March - (No Markets) - Off Season Due To Weather
• Saturday April 26, 2025 (5pm to 9pm)
• Saturday May 31, 2025 (5pm to 9pm)
• Saturday June 28, 2025 (6pm to 10pm)
• Saturday July 26, 2025 (6pm to 10pm)
• Saturday August 23, 2025 (6pm to 10pm)
• Saturday September 27, 2025 (6pm to 10pm)
• Saturday October 25, 2025 (5pm to 9pm)
• Saturday December 6, 2025 (5pm to 9pm)
• Saturday January 24, 2026 (5pm to 9pm) ​

​Sherman Oaks-Encino (shermanoaksencinochamber.org)
March 4 – Ribbon Cutting Everbank 15903 Ventura Blvd.3-5pm

Studio City (studiocitychamber.com)
Be sure to check out the Farmer’s Market on the weekend
Located on Ventura Place, between Radford and Laurel Canyon

Toluca Lake (tolucalakechamber.com)
March 13 – Tolucan Times 1 Year Anniversary Forman’s Whiskey Tavern 10149 W. Riverside Dr. Toluca Lake 6-8pm

West Valley-Warner Center (woodlandhillscc.net)
March 5 – Monthly Motivation Networking Breakfast at El Caballero Country Club 7am-9am.
RSVP required to have name on list at front gate. No walk-ins.
May 10 – Valley Asian and Pacific Islander Cultural Festival at Pierce College.

Winnetka (winnetkachamberofcommerce.com)
Board Installation in March. ​