Mickey Rourke's The Wrestler Wins at Spirit Awards

Darren Oronofsky wins big, Mickey Rourke destroys a microphone and much more at last nights Spirit Awards! It was a big night in Los Angeles for director Darren Aronofsky and actor Mickey Rourke whose film, The Wrestler, won three Independent Spirit Awards for Best Feature, Best Male Lead, and Best Cinematography (Maryse Alberti).

Rourke stole the show with a wildly entertaining and rambling acceptance speech in which he asked the audience to give out-of-work actor Eric Roberts a second chance, threatened to beat comedian Rainn Wilson’s ass for his Wrestler impersonation, needed audience assistance to recall his co-star’s name (Marisa Tomei), dedicated his Spirit award to his recently deceased pet dog, Loki, and finally broke the microphone with his enthusiasm.

Backstage after the awards, we asked Aronofsky what he thought of Rourke’s hilarious, obscenity-laced acceptance speech for Best Actor. He told us, “I think this is the perfect awards ceremony for Mickey because it’s the only one that encourages vulgarity on the stage so I think that was probably a dream come true for him. It was probably the first time he was able to get up there and be himself, so let Mickey be himself. It was great.”

Darren Aronofsky explained what The Wrestler’s big win at Film Independent’s Spirit Awards meant to him. “All the films here are because of the passion of the filmmakers. That’s the only reason it got made. None of them get the kind of magic wand of the studio that says go. So you see all the blood and the sweat on the celluloid. It’s just nice to be in that company so it’s a trip.”

Aronofsky has always worked with extraordinary actors. We asked him what drew him to the world of wrestling. “Well both Scott (Franklin) and I saw that it was a world no one has ever tackled in a serious way,” he explained. “And I think most people before The Wrestler came out perceived wrestling as a joke because it’s fake but the more we looked into the world, the more complex it seemed. I think that’s a big reason why people go to the movies to see something they’ve never seen before and no one’s ever seen that so we were really excited about that.”

We asked him if there was a particular moment when he was making The Wrestler that he realized it was really working. “I think the first week me and Mickey were feeling each other out like boxers in the first round walking around the ring, throwing a few jabs to see if we’re still in. And then the last two days me and Scott planned to put the first wrestling match, the one where he cuts himself with Tommy Rotten, just to make sure he’d dive into the pool by the end of the week. Once Sweet Child of Mine came on and Mickey cut his head open, I knew something was going on. Even though we had a $3,000 prosthetic standing by, he said, ‘You know what? Screw the prosthetic. The wrestlers do it, I’m gonna do it. Now get out of my effin’ way.’”

Aronofsky told us he was surprised to discover how many closet Mickey Rourke fans there were in the world until he made this film. “To me, that’s been the most fascinating thing of this trip. I, of course, have been a huge fan since I was 18 years old. That’s been the biggest surprise – watching all these people coming out of everywhere just to say, ‘Oh yeah, I liked him too. He was great.’ He’s got 40, 50 years on me of incredible work so I think people are just celebrating that and are excited by that and I’m thrilled by it because as a fan of Mickey’s, I can’t wait to see what he does next. Most of us are dying to see what he’s going to wear tomorrow (for the Academy Awards). I can’t wait to see what movie he’s going to do next and what he’s going to bring to that performance.”

The Venice Film Festival played a pivotal role in The Wrestler’s success. We asked Aronofsky what that experience was like. “What happened at the Venice Film Festival this year was just astounding for us. We finished the film two days before. It was on Wednesday and we were the last film to screen at the Biennale and then it just sort of took off from there. Literally a year ago today we were in a strip club shooting Marisa Tomei on a pole with Mickey watching so it’s been an incredible ride in less than a year.”

He described some of the difficulties he faced when he decided to cast Mickey Rourke in the role. “It wasn’t a slam dunk when we first thought of Mickey because his reputation was so bad. I had to sit with him and meet with him to make sure he was up for it because I knew it was going to be a real big challenge to get the money to make it with Mickey Rourke and I just wanted to make sure that if we did get the money that he was going to bring it and show up. It took a couple of meetings to get that but when you look into his eyes, you just see there is no other talent like him on the planet. He’s a unique talent and he’s a very exciting movie star. That was pretty obvious to me when I sat with him.”

We asked Aronofsky it he was planning to work with Rourke on any future projects. He responded, “I keep joking with him that I’m going to wait five years until he screws it up again then come back and reinvent him. That’s a joke. I think Mickey is really aware of what’s going on and he’s ready for the spotlight and we’re going to see amazing work from him.”

Aronofsky shared his thoughts about Rourke’s chances  of  winning an Oscar and going up against Sean Penn.  “Of course, I hope Mickey Rourke wins. You know what would be great? I’ve heard there’s been one tie before between Elizabeth Taylor and Katherine Hepburn. How great would that be, a tie between Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn? That would be better than anything. We’ll see what happens.”

When we told him that might make for one of the weirdest acceptance speeches in Academy Award history, he laughed. “But it would be the best thing for the Academy Awards. I think it’s really close. That whole category is probably the best category out there. You look at every performance there, it’s remarkable. Anyone can win it and they all deserve it. It’s apples and oranges always with these awards shows.”

All of Darren Aronofsky’s films have been so different from each other. We asked him where he plans to go from here. “I hope this will inspire [me] to do something cool and new so we’ll see. We’re looking. I’ve got no idea what’s going to happen. I have things planned but nothing in concrete.”

Here is the complete list of this year’s Independent Spirit Award winners:

• Best Feature: The Wrestler
• Best Director: Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)
• Best First Feature: Synecdoche, New York
• Best Screenplay: Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
• Best First Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
• Best Female Lead: Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
• Best Male Lead: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
• Best Supporting Female: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
• Best Supporting Male: James Franco (Milk)
• Best Cinematography: Maryse Alberti (The Wrestler)
• Best Documentary: Man On Wire
• Best Foreign Language Film: The Class
• Robert Altman Award: Director Charlie Kaufman and the ensemble cast of Synecdoche, New York
• Someone To Watch Award: Lynn Shelton (My Effortless Brilliance)
• Truer Than Fiction Award: Margaret Brown (The Order of Myths)
• Producers Award: Heather Rae (Frozen River and Ibid)