Emmys 2012: Parties kick off; Allison Williams meets Hollywood

For Emmys 2012, the season is arguably the perfect marriage of the old and new guard: the stylish institution “Mad Men” and the wicked, awesome “American Horror Story” are tied at 17 nominations each.

Imagine the possibilities when you add an open bar. Friday evening kicked off a weekend of partying in Los Angeles, as television stars left soundstages to toast their yearlong efforts.

At the top of the night, Variety and Women in Film welcomed small-screen females such as Christina Hendricks, last year’s best comedy actress winner Julie Bowen, Padma Lakshmi, Zooey Deschanel, Amy Poehler, Sela Ward and Krysten Ritter to Scarpetta in Beverly Hills.

Shutting down Scott Conant’s Italian eatery, walls were washed with girly purple light and sparkling wine was passed as the women -- and men such as Bryan Cranston and “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner -- mingled.

Newcomer Allison Williams, of HBO’s “Girls,” seemed to divert everyone’s attention in an electric pink cocktail dress with lace detail. The daughter of NBC News anchor Brian Williams couldn’t move five feet without an admirer stopping her.

In West Hollywood, the restaurant Fig & Olive opened its doors for Entertainment Weekly’s and L’Oreal Paris’ pre-party, crawling with big-name casts and nominees.

Julia-Louis Dreyfus stopped traffic (but also couldn’t resist chatting up Williams) as did folks such as “The Newsroom” actress Olivia Munn, Connie Britton, Julia Ormond, Kate Walsh, Joe Manganiello, Joel McHale, Ty Burrell and Zachary Quinto.

The women of “Happy Endings” -- Eliza Coupe, Casey Wilson and Elisha Cuthbert -- all admired “Homeland” nominee Damian Lewis from across the main dining room while Nene Leakes of “The New Normal” chatted up a male friend in a booth.

Stay tuned to the Ministry for party coverage throughout the weekend, which you can preview here.

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