EXCLUSIVE: Utopia Originals currently has the documentary The Way I Was Made: The Story of a Man Called E in the works. The docu follows the founder of the indie pop rock band Eels, Mark Oliver Everett, as he battles his life-long struggles navigating mental health and music.
Three-time Emmy winner Judd Apatow has come aboard to produce with Utopia founder Robert Schwartzman. Gus Black is directing.
Utopia Studios
The title is the latest in a series of rock and alternative rock docs from Utopia following Meet Me in the Bathroom, Hung Up on a Dream: The Zombies Documentary and Pavements.
As a teenager, Everett discovered his brilliant but troubled father dead. Years later, just as his dreams of becoming a musician began to take shape, he lost both his sister and his mother in devastating succession. Confronted with unimaginable grief, Everett chose not the pursuit of fame, but a deeply personal artistic path — transforming loss into an acclaimed modern music catalog spanning 15 studio albums and beginning with the 1996 debut album, Beautiful Freak. Eels have drawn praise from such performers as Tom Waits and Pete Townshend, the latter who extolled E’s 2008 memoir Things the Grandchildren Should Know: “E’s story is a good example of the way an adverse life in childhood and adolescence shapes an artist, creates eccentricity and ultimately contributes to brilliance. I learned more about my own business and my own methods by reading this book than I did by reading the life of Chuck Berry, Elvis or David Bowie.”
Eels’ music can be heard in such features and TV series as the Shrek franchise, American Beauty, Yes Man, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and most recently in the hit series Yellowjackets and Lynne Ramsay’s Cannes Film Festival feature film Die My Love. The pic is being packaged independently and is currently in production. Kevin Gasser will serve as EP. Gus Black has directed videos by Sheryl Crow, Phoebe Bridgers, Laufey, Sombr’s 2025 VMA-winning “Back To Friends” video and has worked with Eels as a video collaborator throughout their career.
“E’s story is a truly unique and compelling tale of an American original,” says Black. “Shaped by harrowing circumstances, he chose to forge his own artistic path. One full of jarring twists, dark turns and unexpectedly bright forecasts.”
Apatow adds, “I’ve always thought E’s story would make for a fantastic documentary. I am confused by why it has taken this long.”
“Writing music and lyrics can be a powerful form of medicine. It’s rare that a music story so honestly explores the intersection of songwriting and mental health,” says Schwartzman. “Everyone at Utopia was immediately drawn to Gus Black’s deeply human telling of the Eels story. It takes real courage to be this vulnerable about such personal chapters of E’s life, and we’re proud to stand behind that honesty.”
Apatow is currently working on a new Universal feature starring Glen Powell, which he’s co-writing with the Twisters star. The pic also stars Cristin Milioti, Madelyn Cline and Li Jin Hao.