Sandra Oh amused by Andy Garcia's rejection

500-Weeks #18

Sandra Oh finds Andy Garcia's photo request rejection humorous.
Toronto International film Festival 1995

By the middle of 1995 my weekly EyeSpy social column was a true hit. One of the best signs of this was when a major nightclub signed a contract for a years worth of advertisements – at full rate – on one condition: that the ads be placed beside my EyeSpy column each week. My column would take up 3/5ths of the page, and their advertisement would take up the other 2/5ths.

So of course I got cancelled.

This is the way it was explained it me: I was a contributor to Eye Weekly, a free weekly newspaper that had a circulation of over 100,00 copies a week. Free newspapers pay the bills with ad revenue. If the editorial / advertisement split is 40% editorial and 60% ads, the paper is making a profit. If the spit is 50/50 the business is just breaking even.

Eye was the special project of a major daily newspaper. The daily supplied the upper management and ad sales team, while editorial was created by young, freelance contributors. After publishing for four years, the paper was at a 50/50 split and management was unhappy with the quantity of ad sales.  So the editor of the paper was given a directive: Cut nine pages of editorial. This week.

Excuse me? When faced with low ad sales, shouldn’t you be sacking the ad sales team? The editorial content had a fan base that was loyal and growing. Many advertisers paid premiums to have their ads placed next to their preferred columnist. But dig a little deeper: management from the daily had put together the sales team. Some had been with the daily and couldn’t sell for it, so they got sent to the weekly.

Management wasn’t about to fire the team they assembled. That would be admitting defeat and management wasn’t about to loose face like that.  So the editor had to do the difficult work, re-focussing the content and informing many contributors of the cuts.

I was the oddball, because I was both writer and photographer. The editor wanted to keep me as a contributor, and reasoned he could utilize my skills as a photographer, still shooting thee assignments a week, but now they would be for the other, remaining contributing writers.

My feelings about this were mixed at the time. I was proud of the column, but after three years, I had been to enough events. Plus, the new assignments would potentially be more photographically challenging. Less events with an on-camera flash and more studio work instead. That sounded exciting.

Plus, this meant I was available to photograph parties for other clients. Case in point: Flare magazine. After three years of covering multiple events a week, a lot of people in the downtown arts and entertainment scene knew who I was.

I was not the type of photographer to stand back and silently hope that something interesting would occur. I would actively work the room, looking for groups or individuals I wanted to photograph. I would go up and introduce myself and ask if I could take their picture. If they said yes, I would pose them, giving little directions, such as, stand closer, put your arm on his/her shoulder, hold your drink higher, etc. Then I would take my photos, and pull out my notebook - a small re-fillable binder - and take down their names and occupation or whatever they wanted me to refer to them as. They could be as humble or bold or funny or boastful as they wanted. A film student might refer to themself as a student, or a director or a film mogul in the making or a major filmmaker. Whatever they wanted me to use, I used.

So when the newspaper was revamped and EyeSpy was cut, people knew, and that’s when Suzanne Boyd reached out. She was the deputy editor of Flare, the Canadian fashion magazine, at the time and recruited me to cover the Toronto Film Festival for the “Flare Was There“ social section. 

Which is why I was at Roy Thompson Hall for the “Steal Big Steal Little” after party. Guests that evening included the star of the movie, Andy Garcia. Among the other guests in attendance was a young Canadian actress named Sandra Oh. At the time she had received alot of recognition for her role in “Double Happiness” which was released at the previous years' Film Festival and for which she took home the Genie Award for best actress.

She’s a bit better known now.

I knew Sandra because she went to events that I covered but I have to admit I couldn’t remember where I first encountered her – probably at the Rivoli on Queen St West - I just knew who she was and she knew who I was. As Sandra and I were chatting, we noticed Mr. Garcia had walked into the area near us. We looked at him, then at each other and acted surprised to discover he was at his own party. So I moved to get into a better position for the camera and took a photo of Sandra with Mr. Garcia visible. 

Sandra Oh standing near Andy Garcia at the Steal Big Steal Little after party
Toronto International Film Festival, 1995.

Then we conspired about trying to get a photo of the two of them together. So, being the proactive photographer, I approached him and asked: “Mr Garcia, can I take of photo of you with Sandra Oh here? She’s a Canadian actress.” He looked at me and then at Sandra, and then back at me and – realizing he did not recognize either of us - came back with a very flat, unemotional and not very loud “no” embellished with small shake of his head.

He then turned his attention away from Sandra and I, and we looked at each other and we just laughed. Sandra‘s head went back and she just ripped off a true head shaking, can’t contain herself roar of laughter. 

Sandra Oh finding the humour in being rejected for a photo with Andy Garcia at the Steal Big Steal Little after party, Toronto International Film Festival, 1995.

Sandra Oh pointing out that Andy Garcia is still near her, while Eric Stoltz wanders into view at the Steal Big Steal Little after party, Toronto International Film Festival, 1995.

Now, I knew asking the question I was likely to get rejected. Mr. Garcia does not seem like the kind of host to go around glad-handing the guests and making sure they are alright. Nope, he is an artiste. A serious artiste. Even at his own party. Serious. Very serious.

But the absolute coldness of his response, of the famous American rejecting the request of a member of the local media to pose with a not-well-known Canadian performer, and to do it so flatly, and without any apology, just so, so, funny. Even as she laughed, he did not give her any further attention. Sandra kept pointing over at him, so I took another photo, even as Eric Stoltz walked in. 

Afterwards, Sandra took my notebook and pen and scratched out a little note to me:

“Steve you are my fucking savior! XO Sandra”

The handwritten note from Sandra Oh

After that I got another photo with Sandra, this time with actress Waneta Storms. It turns out some people want to have their photo taken with Sandra Oh.

Actors Waneta Storms and Sandra Oh at the Steak Big Steal Little after party, Toronto International Film Festival 1995

Technical stuff: Nikon FM2n camera with 28mm f/2.8 E Series lens using Fuji Super-G 400 ISO colour negative film. Lighting is with a Vivitar 285HV on-camera flash.