Attendees of the traditional Academy Awards luncheon Monday afternoon were smiling with fresh hope, as news emerged this weekend that the 13-week writers strike may be coming to an end.

The Oscar luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel reunited nominees ahead of the grand Feb. 24 ceremony that will see the 80th Academy Awards handed out to a new class of cinematographic honorees.

George Clooney, recently named U. N. messenger of peace, was hopeful himself that things would finally be settled. The best-actor contender for “Michael Clayton” was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as he told reporters in the pre-lunch news conference:

“There's a tentative agreement out there that I think has a good shot at getting signed. I think there's a lot of strike fatigue,” he said, adding, “I think you start losing some of your negotiating power” as the Writers Guild of America strike goes on.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis assured attendees that the ceremony would take place regardless of developments in the writers strike and he emphasized the need for the art of movie-making to be celebrated.

“We're going to hand out Oscars not because of some quaint showbiz notion that the show must go on,” USA Today quoted him as saying. “The Oscar exists because the academy founders believed movies were not just a business and people need to be reminded of this.”

Among those present at the luncheon were director Julian Schnabel, nominated for his French-language drama, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” who wore purple hand-sewn pajamas and said he would return to his first love, painting, after the Oscar event is over, per the Times.

Best-actress nominee Ellen Page, donning a black-and-white striped dress, quipped that she had taken her “old prison uniform” and sewn it into a dress for the luncheon but added that being nominated with the likes of Julie Christie, Cate Blanchett, Marion Cotillard and Laura Linney was quite surreal: “It [being nominated] feels like, are you sure? Do you want to double-check that?” she was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

The Times also notes that more than a half of the nominees in acting categories were absent, such as Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp and Daniel Day-Lewis; absences that can be explained through conflicting work schedules but also absences betraying that this year’s award season does not present the elation of previous years.

The 80th Academy Awards is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The awards show will be televised by ABC.

This year’s Golden Globes stand as a sad example of what festivities in Hollywood amount to once the stars refuse to cross picket lines in support of striking writers – a drab news conference that few tune in to watch on their TV.