Even if Mickey Rourke doesn’t win the Oscar on Sunday night, he has earned a little bit of loving this weekend from the Hollywood community, as he took home the Best Male Lead trophy at the Independent Spirit Awards for his work in The Wrestler.
In a hilarious, profanity-filled acceptance speech, the controversial actor dedicated his award to his recently deceased dog, Loki, and singled at his pal Eric Roberts as the next actor deserving of a comeback vehicle.
"Eric Roberts is the f***ing man and he deserves, like i got, a second chance," Mickey told the audience.
The year’s comeback kid also made a joking (we hope) threat to The Office’s Rainn Wilson, who had donned Mickey’s Wrestler gear earlier in the ceremony to perform a song parody of the film. "I’m gonna beat your ass when I get outta here," he hollered toward the backstage area.
Mickey’s speech inspired the night’s final presenter, Alec Baldwin, to say, "I want back into the movie business so bad… I gotta get dog, start working out, drop a lotta f-bombs on live TV."
Additionally, The Wrestler won the night’s big prize, Best Feature, and Best Cinematography for Maryse Alberti.
One of the night’s other notable winners was Milk, which was honored with wins for James Franco in the Best Supporting Male category and Dustin Lance Black for First Screenplay.
In his acceptance speech, Black said he hopes the success of the film will help bring the issue of gay rights to the forefront, saying, "It’s time to achieve [Harvey Milk's] dream and have full and equal rights for gay people across America."
On a lighter note, Best Supporting Female winner Penélope Cruz regaled the audience with an amusing tale of how it was more important for Vicky Cristina Barcelona director Woody Allen to deal with the sudden appearance of a mole on his hand than it was to be on-set for the day she shot her much-hyped makeout scene with Scarlett Johansson.
Speaking of Penélope, when her fellow Supporting Female nominee Rosie Perez took the stage later to announce the Best Foreign Film winner, she declared, "I just wanna say that I hate Penélope Cruz… Congratulations, you fly bitch!"
The complete list of Independent Spirit Winners:
Best Feature
The Wrestler
Best Director
Tom McCarthy/The Visitor
Best Male Lead
Mickey Rourke/The Wrestler
Best Female Lead
Melissa Leo/Frozen River
Best Supporting Male
James Franco/Milk
Best Supporting Female
Penelope Cruz/Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Screenplay
Woody Allen/Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Cinematography
Maryse Alberti/The Wrestler
Best First Feature
Synecdoche, New York
Best First Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black/Milk
Best Documentary
Man on Wire
Best Foreign Film
The Class
John Cassavetes Award
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
Someone to Watch Award
Lynn Shelton/My Effortless Brilliance
Producers Award
Heather Rae/Frozen River & Ibid
Truer Than Fiction Award
Margaret Brown/The Order of Myths
Robert Altman Award
Charlie Kaufman, Jeanne McCarthy, Ensemble Cast of Synecdoche, New York
