"except for a couple of domestic problems"

Film Back in the late 70s, writer Stephen Gallagher was attempting to put together a musical based on the life of actor Douglas Fairbanks. As part of his research he entered into a correspondence with Fairbanks's son who wasn't entirely sure his father's life was dramatic enough to sustain the drama:
"I do want to warn you that the idea had already occurred to two or three other people over the past fifteen or twenty years, and even though they have been well-known playwrights and theatre people the projects have come to nothing because, except for a couple of domestic problems, my father's life per se was not sufficently dramatic to justify a play. His career was indeed spectacular and he was unquestionably a great creative artist and producer but beyond that the material is not rich enough to sustain a complete play. Any detailing of domestic sidelights would be likely to lead to complications as some of the people are still living - such as my step-mother.
His step-mother being Mary Pickford. Thrilling stuff.

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