§ Feature Screenplay
A World of Possibility
A biographical feature screenplay of the life of Barney A. Ebsworth — travel entrepreneur, art collector, friend of Georgia O'Keeffe — adapted from his 2012 autobiography and the long-form family biography.
Working draft
Act structure
The working act breakdown follows Barney's 2012 chapter arc, compressed and re-arranged for screen:
Act I
St. Louis & the Army
Twin-birth in the Depression; Eagle Scout; quarter-miler; enlistment, 1956
Outlining
Act IIa
Paris & Martine
The USO, New Year's Eve 1956; the Louvre Saturdays; 1958 wedding and homecoming
Outlining
Act IIb
Building INTRAV
From a wig-shop office to the $5,000 cosigned stake to the “B or B” year — 1959-1967
Outlining
Act III
Cruise Lines & Collection
Royal 1972, Clipper 1981, the Hopper that almost got away, the Abiquiu visit
Outlining
Act IV
Hunts Point & Legacy
Kuoni sale 1999, the house for the collection, the four marriages, Christie's coda
Outlining
Source material
Working research base
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- A World of Possibility — Barney's own 2012 autobiography (Hunts Point Publishing, 191 pp, 50,923 words) — archived at /barneybook/
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- Chapter-by-Chapter Companion — running commentary at /book/
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- Third Edition — 301-page long-form biography at /bio/barney3.html
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- Fourth Edition (in progress) — synthesis at /bio/barney4.html
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- Family archive — Frauenthal genealogy, Paul Walhus's recollections of Christmas on Gannon Avenue, Sumac Lane, Chautauqua
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- Photograph trove — the Walhus family picture collection (referenced for production/visual research)
Format
Industry-standard feature format: 12-pt Courier, proper sluglines, ~1 minute per page, target length 110-120 pages. The web presentation uses a monospace Courier rendering that preserves the shape of scripted pages without the strict margin rules; a production-ready PDF will follow.
Status: Title page and Act I opening scenes are being drafted from the Ch. 1–2 material (the 1934 birth, the Kingshighway flat, the Eagle Scout year). Scenes will post at /screenplay/act-i/ as they're drafted.
Release-calendar anchor — the 75/25 Year
The Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park is running a formally programmed year-long commemoration from January 1 through December 31, 2026: the 75/25 Anniversary Year. 75 years since Wright built the Kraus House in 1951; 25 years since Barney's 2001 gift to the city of St. Louis. A theatrical release or festival premiere landing inside the 75/25 window lands inside a calendar peg the Park itself is actively promoting — the dedication ceremony, lectures, and public events become marketable release-tour stops. Source: ebsworthpark.org/events.