Robert Schwartzman is the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola, cousin of Nicolas Cage, Sofia Coppola, Roman Coppola and Christopher Coppola, and grandson of Italia Coppola (née Pennino) and Carmine Coppola (the source of his old stage name) and his niece, Gia Coppola. His brother is Jason Schwartzman, lead singer of the band Coconut Records (also an actor and former drummer of the band Phantom Planet) and his half-siblings are Stephanie Schwartzman and cinematographer John Schwartzman. Schwartzman is of Jewish descent on his father's side and of Catholic Italian descent on his mother's side. Schwartzman attended Windward School in Los Angeles, California and
Francis Ford Coppola to pay off his debts. (Zoetrope Studios finally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1990, after which its name was changed to American Zoetrope). Following the disastrous "One from the Heart", Coppola co-directed "Hammett" along with Wim Wenders in the same year. Although Coppola was not credited for his effort, according to one source, "by the time the final version was released in 1982, only 30 percent of Wenders' footage remained and the rest was completely reshot by Coppola, whose mere 'executive producer' credit is just a technicality." In 1983, he directed "The Outsiders", a film adaptation of the novel