Shad Powers | Palm Springs Desert Sun

In the "Star Wars" movies, Adam Driver is a villain. But on Thursday night outside the Palm Springs Convention Center, he was a hero.

Driver, being honored with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor for his work in the movie "Marriage Story," saved the night for a throng of autograph-seekers huddled across the street from the convention center's red carpet to get a signature or a selfie with one of their favorite stars.

Driver exited his SUV, made a beeline for the extreme right side of the crowd, and started signing his way all the way to the left, engaging with everyone who asked. And this was a night where the autograph-seekers needed a hero. By far the fewest number of celebrities interacted with the fans in at least the last six years.

Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun

Traditionally, approximately 70% of the Film Awards Gala honorees and presenters come over to take selfies with the fans. On this night, it was about 30% and that did not include many of the big names.

Honorees who didn't sign autographs: Joaquin Phoenix, Laura Dern, Quentin Tarantino, Jennifer Lopez, Renee Zellweger and Martin Scorsese. The biggest name presenters, Salma Hayek and Robert De Niro, also passed on audience engagement this year.

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But let's focus on the celebs who did make people's day. Here were some of the memorable moments from the night:

Charlize Theron, the last celebrity to arrive, jumped out and started signing right away. She was going down the row, signing every movie poster or headshot photo that was put in front of her. Then a guy reached out with an issue of "Playboy" Magazine with Theron on the cover. She hesitated, waved it away disgustedly, and continued signing.

Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun

Zack Gottsagen, the titular star of "The Peanut Butter Falcon," was the first honoree to sign autographs. Gottsagen, an actor with Down syndrome, was excited to be asked and he went over and signed a few movie posters. The movie's creators, Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, were with him. He signed a few autographs and then was whisked away. When people groaned, he turned back to the crowd, waved and said, "Sorry everybody!" It was hard for them to stay mad at him.

Greta Gerwig, the talented director and actress, was presenting the Director of the Year award to Tarantino later in the night, but she took time to interact with the fans and made it a night to remember for one girl in particular. As Gerwig leaned in to take a selfie with a young fan named Malia Reed, Reed burst into tears, overcome with emotion. Gerwig smiled and talked to her and hugged her. It was a special moment.

"She's my idol. I love her. She directed my favorite movie of all time 'Lady Bird' and I just look up to her so much," Reed said. "This was surreal."

Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun

Other celebs that signed autographs were Jamie Foxx, Antonio Banderas, director Jay Roach and Cynthia Erivo, the star of the movie "Harriet."

Also of note: the presence of a protester of sorts. A man dressed in a polar bear suit stood among the autograph-seekers and held a sign that said "Make Carbon Free Movies" on one side and "Climate Change Is Real" on the other side. The polar bear costume had a smiling face, which sort of took a little of the oomph out of his message, but he just stood quietly with his sign, not creating a stir.

And that's about it. Despite beautiful weather and a big crowd of around 400, it was a bummer of a year for the autograph hounds. Of the 24 honorees and presenters, just eight signed autographs. Oof!

Autograph seekers may have to just brush this year aside, like Theron brushing away a "Playboy."

At least they had Adam Driver to play the hero.

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Photos: 2020 Palm Springs International Film Festival red carpet scenes