E.T. Phone Home--If You Need a New Script

Before the ceremonies began Monday night, hundreds of fans were gathered in front of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. There was the usual smattering of protesters representing religious and anti-abortion positions, but none of the chanting that accompanied protests in previous years.

The biggest attention-getter was a plane that flew above the Music Center trailing a banner that advertised “the world’s funniest script” and, of course, a phone number.