Rourke Steals Show at Spirit Awards

Mickey Rourke brought the house down with his acceptance speech last night at the Independent Spirit Awards, a 5-minute ramble that ran the gamut from thanking the Santa Monica Police ("for giving me a bed 10 years ago") to praising co-star Marisa Tomei's pole-dancing skills. Rourke praised Wrestler director Darren Aronofsky, and called for someone to give Eric Roberts a comeback role as well, BBC reports.

The evening also saw a Best Feature award for The Wrestler, and major acting awards for Penelope Cruz, Michelle Leo, and James Franco. Tom McCarthy took Best Director honors for The Victor, but bemoaned the timing of his award, given just after Rourke's. "They should have stopped the show after Mickey. Who can follow that?" (More Mickey Rourke stories.)