'The Wrestler' Wins Big At Independent Spirit Awards

There's no doubt about this champion. The Wrestler, the tale of a grappler trying for one last comeback, defeated all comers at the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards, earning a win for Best Feature and garnering unlikely comeback kid Mickey Rourke the Best Male lead nod.



"I didn't realize how many closet Mickey Rourke fans there were in this world," director Darren Aronofsky said backstage. "That's been the best part of this whole trip -- watching people come out of everywhere."

Mickey Rourke, clearly making the most of his unexpected comeback after spending years in the acting wilderness, proved the clear crowd favorite, with a six-minute off-the-cuff acceptance speech, very little of which can be printed in a family newspaper.

He started off by urging that producers find work for his buddy, actor Eric Roberts, whose career has gone decidedly cold. "Whatever he did 15 for 20 years ago, he deserves to be forgiven," Rourke said, to considerable laughter and an embarrassed shout-out from Roberts, who was in the audience. And he finished with a profane, though hilarious, litany of advice for down-on-their-luck actors.

Still, no one took more delight in winning a Spirit than Melissa Leo, who bested fellow Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) to win for Female Lead. Near tears, she thanked just about everyone who had anything to do with the film, including her fellow cast members, director Courtney Hunt, the residents of Plattsburgh, N.Y. (where the film was shot), even the journalists and entertainment writers "who really gave Frozen River a chance."

"Hooray independents," an emotional Leo shouted as she left the stage

Other Spirit winners included Tom McCarthy, Best Director for The Visitor; Woody Allen, Best Screenplay, for Vicky Cristina Barcelona; and Penelope Cruz, Best Supporting Female, also for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

James Marsh's Man on Wire won for Best Documentary.

Milk, Gus Van Sant's biopic of the murdered gay rights crusader and San Francisco assemblyman, took the day's first two awards, with James Franco winning for Best Supporting Male and Dustin Lance Black taking the Best First Screenplay prize.

Both men sounded hopeful notes backstage, saying they hoped the film marked a new chapter in the country's acceptance of gays and lesbians. "I do believe that America loves gay and lesbian people," Black said. "They just may not have met us yet."

Although the Spirits like to present themselves as Oscar's feistier cousin, the line between Oscar-worthy and Spirit-worthy films has been blurring steadily over the past several years.

Among the most prominent names among this year's Spirit-nominated films were Milk, The Wrestler, Rachel Getting Married and Frozen River, all of which were nominated for multiple Oscars as well.

Still, the Spirits reveled in their -- to borrow a word that doubtless will be heard repeatedly at Sunday's Oscars -- slumdog status. Host Steve Coogan's opening monologue was liberally sprinkled with words that George Carlin once proclaimed could never be said on TV. Several of the acceptance speeches were proudly off-color. And on his way into the awards ceremony, a smiling Rourke dropped the f-word repeatedly into every interview, and even displayed his middle finger delightedly -- and was applauded for doing so.

"As a fan of Mickey's," The Wrestler co-producer Scott Franklin said as the ceremonies ended, "I can't wait to see what he does next."

by Chris Kaltenbach for The Baltimore Sun