The Academy Awards had some solid moments last night. The Judd Apatow short, Steve Martin and Tina Fey riffing on Scientology, and "Man on Wire"'s Philippe Petit doing coin tricks and balancing an Oscar on his chin were all worth the price of admission.

Over the last few years, however, we've found that tuning in to the freewheeling Independent Spirit Awards is much more rewarding. Take, for instance, Saturday's broadcast, which featured Mickey Rourke offering up a bizarre acceptance speech touching on elements as disparate as Eric Roberts, his late Chihuahua, and pole dancing. (NSFW)


Oscar Party 2009

    WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: (***EXCLUSIVE ACCESS SPECIAL RATES APPLY*** NO TV BROADCAST IN THE USA OR CANADA UNTIL FEBRUARY 26.) Anil Kapoor (L) and Rubiana Ali attend the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 22, 2009 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/VF/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) *** Local Caption *** Anil Kapoor;Rubiana Ali

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    WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: (***EXCLUSIVE ACCESS SPECIAL RATES APPLY*** NO TV BROADCAST IN THE USA OR CANADA UNTIL FEBRUARY 26.) Christopher Walken and Arianna Huffington attends the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 22, 2009 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/VF/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) *** Local Caption *** Christopher Walken;Arianna Huffington

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    WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: (***EXCLUSIVE ACCESS SPECIAL RATES APPLY*** NO TV BROADCAST IN THE USA OR CANADA UNTIL FEBRUARY 26.) Tilda Swinton, David Furnish and Sir Elton John attend the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 22, 2009 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/VF/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) *** Local Caption *** Tilda Swinton;David Furnish;Sir Elton John

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    WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: (***EXCLUSIVE ACCESS SPECIAL RATES APPLY*** NO TV BROADCAST IN THE USA OR CANADA UNTIL FEBRUARY 26.) Musician Mick Jagger (L) and director Baz Luhrmann (C) attend the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 22, 2009 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/VF/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) *** Local Caption *** Mick Jagger;Baz Luhrmann

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    WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: (***EXCLUSIVE ACCESS SPECIAL RATES APPLY*** NO TV BROADCAST IN THE USA OR CANADA UNTIL FEBRUARY 26.) Elle Macpherson (L) and Gavin Rossdale (R) attend the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 22, 2009 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/VF/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) *** Local Caption *** Elle Macpherson;Gavin Rossdale

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    WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: (***EXCLUSIVE ACCESS SPECIAL RATES APPLY*** NO TV BROADCAST IN THE USA OR CANADA UNTIL FEBRUARY 26.) Chau-Giang Thi Nguyen and producer Brian Grazer attend the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 22, 2009 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/VF/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) *** Local Caption *** Chau-Giang Thi Nguyen;Brian Graze

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    WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: (***EXCLUSIVE ACCESS SPECIAL RATES APPLY*** NO TV BROADCAST IN THE USA OR CANADA UNTIL FEBRUARY 26.) Actresses Rosario Dawson and Penelope Cruz attend the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 22, 2009 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/VF/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) *** Local Caption *** Rosario Dawson;Penelope Cruz

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    WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: (***EXCLUSIVE ACCESS SPECIAL RATES APPLY*** NO TV BROADCAST IN THE USA OR CANADA UNTIL FEBRUARY 26.) Actors Sacha Baron Cohen and Seth Rogen attend the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 22, 2009 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/VF/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) *** Local Caption *** Sacha Baron Cohen;Seth Rogen

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    WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: (***EXCLUSIVE ACCESS SPECIAL RATES APPLY*** NO TV BROADCAST IN THE USA OR CANADA UNTIL FEBRUARY 26.) Actress Zoe Saldana attends the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 22, 2009 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/VF/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) *** Local Caption *** Zoe Saldana

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    WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: (***EXCLUSIVE ACCESS SPECIAL RATES APPLY*** NO TV BROADCAST IN THE USA OR CANADA UNTIL FEBRUARY 26.) Michael Sheen and guest attend the 2009 Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 22, 2009 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/VF/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) *** Local Caption *** Michael Sheen

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