We can’t wait to see who wins at the 2015 Emmys on Sunday, especially after schmoozing with the nominees at Audi’s annual kick-off party at Cecconi’s Restaurant in West Hollywood last night. As the award ceremony’s long-time official sponsor, every year Audi rounds up some of their finest models to pick up some major talent for the soirée—like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Hale, Joel McHale, Tony Goldwyn and Jesse Tyler Ferguson—and this time it was the A8 L TDI fuel-efficient flagship sedan. Nominees and stars arrived in style to walk the white carpet and chat about what they’re looking forward to at the show the most, before ducking into the party to mingle.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus shared what she is excited for at the Emmys, saying, “I’m looking forward to getting together with everybody on our show. It’s fun to have a party and a lot of the people who work on the show live in the UK so they’re flying in, so we get to all be together.” She spent a ton of time hanging out with Joel McHale, Tony Hale and Lindsey Vonn, laughing and snapping selfies throughout the night.
The event will surely be a blast, but Niecy Nash is looking forward to seeing her husband all dressed up in a fine suit. “It’s going to be a really fun date-night with my husband. He’s already nice to look at, but then you put him in a tuxedo and there’s not that many times a year [I] to see him all dolled up, so I like it.”
Alternatively, Scandal star Tony Goldwyn isn’t even planning on attending. Instead he shared, “I’m going to do something really fabulous and boring, and cook dinner for my daughter and watch the Emmys together.” Since he won’t be there on Sunday, it’s a good thing he got to catch up with co-star Khandi Alexander at last night’s party.
Joel McHale was definitely a party favorite, sticking around until the wee hours of the night to joke with friends and chat about his Kermit the Frog encounter. He recently appeared (along with Julie Bowen, Viola Davis and the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron) in a video from Audi and the Television Academy where Kermit and Miss Piggy try to have a friendly lunch after their publicized break-up and of course, it doesn’t go as planned. “You’ll have to watch it. It’s more dramatic than Avatar,” McHale joked.
The party also marked the first time TV presenter Cat Deeley has appeared in public since announcing her pregnancy, wearing a stunning Art Deco-like Temperley mini dress with Louboutins.
Other stars in attendance including Kat Graham (The Vampire Diaries), Nolan Gould (Modern Family), Victor Espinoza (Triple Crown 2015 jockey), Karina Smirnoff (Dancing with the Stars), Diego Boneta (Pretty Little Liars), Ed Weeks (The Mindy Project), Nick Sandow (Orange is the New Black), Thomas Sadoski (The Newsroom) and Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad).
