The first edition of the book, which went to #1 on the L.A. Times Non-Fiction Bestseller list in 1997, remained on the chart for 5 months, and was in print for over ten years.
Ironically, the first edition of L.A. Bizarro was out of print by then, but the cover story by Jessica Gelt generated renewed interest in an update/sequel as well as a website that is still a work in progress.
He was accepted into the USC School of Cinema-Television as a freshman, where he founded the loosely-knit anti-establishment art group called "Film Fascists."
Influenced by Russ Meyer, David Lynch, John Waters, Fellini, Kurosawa, and Hitchcock, Lovett's own cinematic style fluctuated between surreal, sophomoric, and salacious.
[citation needed] Lovett began his career as a freelance journalist and humorist in 1983, and went on to write feature articles for numerous national publications, including "I Am Curious Donkey" for Chic, and the crystal meth opus, "Wired in California," for the "Drugs in America" special issue of Rolling Stone.