LOS ANGELES — It's typically the hottest party in town on Oscar night _ but not this year.

Vanity Fair has canceled its annual Academy Awards party, the magazine announced Tuesday.

"After much consideration, and in support of the writers and everyone else affected by this strike, we have decided that this is not the appropriate year to hold our annual Oscar party," said a statement posted on VanityFair.com.

"We want to congratulate all of this year's nominees and we look forward to hosting our 15th Oscar party next year," the magazine said.

The annual post-Oscar soiree often lures more luminaries than the ceremony itself. The night's big winners and nominees typically turn out, along with A-listers including Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, Cher, Sean Penn, Joni Mitchell and Al Gore.

The Feb. 24 party was scrapped even though the writers guild is said to be on track for a possible deal with studios, possibly as soon as this week.

Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter decided to cancel the party after talking with West Coast friends and colleagues, said magazine spokeswoman Beth Kseniak.

He decided that even if the three-month writers strike was resolved before the Academy Awards, its affect on Tinseltown was likely to linger.

"Inasmuch as Vanity Fair is a collection of writers, photographers and artists, we do feel ourselves in aligned solidarity with the writers, directors and actors in the film business," Carter said in a statement.

Held annually at Morton's restaurant, the event has been a fixture for post-Oscar partygoers since its inception in 1994.

This year's party was to be the first at Craft, a new restaurant in tony Century City.

A message left with Craft management was not immediately returned.

A year after holding its first Oscar party, Vanity Fair introduced its annual Hollywood issue. This year's issue, featuring 10 young actresses on its tri-fold cover, hits newsstands next week.

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