Allison Hope Weiner was a Century City entertainment litigator before she began writing about Hollywood as a journalist. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Southern California Law Center, she joined the legendary firm of Wyman, Bautzer—where she represented entertainers and corporate media clients. After leaving Wyman and spending four years at another West Side law firm, Ms. Weiner began writing freelance articles about the business of entertainment for Los Angeles Magazine, George, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide and Buzz. Hired by Entertainment Weekly in 2001, she covered the industry for five years, writing cover stories and features, and reporting many articles for the magazine’s must-read annual Power List. Ms. Weiner landed exclusives with James Gandolfini during his contentious contract dispute with HBO over “The Sopranos”; the only print interview with Paul Reubens after his plea deal for possession of child pornography; and gained access to the personal files of Bonnie Lee Bakeley, the actor Robert Blake’s slain wife, for a piece about how Bakeley’s obsession with celebrities led to her death.

Weiner left Entertainment Weekly as a senior writer in 2005 to report for The New York Times, beginning with a Styles section profile of the legendary Hollywood lawyer Bert Fields, a subject of the federal investigation into celebrity private eye, Anthony Pellicano. She covered the movies and television for the paper for several years, writing exclusive pieces about the federal investigation and trial of Pellicano and his connection to many Los Angeles powerbrokers including Brad Grey, Ron Burkle and Ron Meyer. After refusing to name her sources on the Pellicano piece, the F.B.I. opened an investigation to determine her sources on the story. While working for the paper, Weiner also landed exclusive interviews with Mel Gibson, M. Night Shymalan, Brian Grazer and other Hollywood power players. She also wrote feature stories about the drug use and untimely death of the model-turned-bounty hunter Domino Harvey, the criminal investigation into the tactics of local L.A. paparazzi and was one of the first to write about the new speed of scandal and the world of Harvey Levin’s TMZ. She blogged for The Huffington Post during the trial of Anthony Pellicano and is a contributor to both Deadline Hollywood and Vanity Fair. She’s also appeared extensively on many national entertainment television news shows including Entertainment Tonight, E! News, CBS Morning Show, Headline News, Extra and CNN. She is currently a contributor to E! News. Her most recent interview with Lindsay Lohan’s criminal lawyer, Shawn Holley, appeared both on E! News and was featured extensively on the channel’s website.