Oscars are motivation to end the strike

The Oscars may have stars, after all. Amid talks between striking writers and studios that reignited this week, USA Today quotes James Schamus, head of Focus Features and a negotiator for the Writers Guild during its contract settlement in 2005, ‘There’s still a way to go, but I’m confident they’ll come to an agreement. I think fences are being mended.’’

And the Oscars apparently are the finish line in this race for an agreement to end the strike: ‘‘I think people are seeing the Academy Awards as an unofficial deadline,’’ says Sasha Stone of OscarWatch. ‘‘Everyone is beginning to look bad in this.’’