His paternal half-siblings are Stephanie and cinematographer John Schwartzman, while his maternal half-brother is Matthew Shire.

He left the band temporarily when he attended Eugene Lang College in New York City in 2001.

In his first semester at college, Schwartzman wrote songs in his dorm room and flew home every month to perform new material for Rooney.

All profits from the sale of the album will be donated to the Tibetan Healing Fund, to help build a new birthing center.

In 2016, Schwartzman wrote and directed Dreamland, starring Johnny Simmons and Amy Landecker.

In 2020, Utopia Media announced the launch of Altavod, a platform for filmmakers to more easily distribute and profit from their films.

Altavod originally launched in partnership with Unanimous Media’s[12] documentary Jump Shot,[13] a documentary that uncovered the inspiring true story of the forgotten basketball legend who developed, pioneered, and popularized the modern-day jump shot.

The film made its belated Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD debut in May 2020, from Vinegar Syndrome[15] and Utopia Distribution.