For Rosie O'Donnell, the idea started in a rush: She would turn the book "America" into a movie.

"I read it on an airplane," O'Donnell said. "I had a visceral reaction to it."

She immediately wrote a screenplay, bypassing a few details: She didn't have the rights. She didn't know the author. And people weren't making many TV movies any more.

Now, more than six years later, "America" debuts 7 p.m. tomorrow on cable's Lifetime. It took persistence and friendly tax laws.

That's a Michigan program that kicks back 40-percent of the in-state expenses (42 percent in some areas, including Detroit). The state and city film offices are busy, making things easier. "We were able to piggyback onto another production," O'Donnell said.

The TNT film "Gifted Hands" had brought some specialists to Detroit; "America" kept them there for a while.

This is a relatively quiet story about a teen who has been tossed around the foster-care system. At first, O'Donnell knew nothing about the author. "I didn't even know it was a woman," she said.

E.R. Frank is a therapist who has worked with kids in upstate New York. Fictionalizing on her own experiences, she created the story of a boy named America. Bumped through the foster system for years, he's ready to give up; a calmly relentless therapist won't let him.

This struck O'Donnell on both sides -- as a foster and adoptive mother and as a former troubled kid.

She was 10, in Long Island, when her mother died of cancer. Her home became sullen and abusive, she says. The redeeming moments came from a teacher -- "math, my worst subject" -- named Pat Maravel.

O'Donnell's solution was to overachieve -- Homecoming queen, senior class president, being "on every team." The "America" kid goes the other way, withdrawing into semi-silence.

The therapist role ended up with O'Donnell, not an experienced drama actor. "I was just playing Pat (Maravel)," she said.

Virtually all of her scenes were with America. "My job was to love him," O'Donnell said. "That was easy; I love the kid."

Finding him was another matter. "We had read 600 kids," O'Donnell said. "Our concern was that they were too actor-ish."

Then she saw a family at a Detroit cafe. The father was a laid-off autoworker, she said; the son, was planning to study engineering at the University of Michigan.

That was Philip Johnson. She talked him into auditioning and gave him the role. "He is an amazing kid and he's open and vulnerable," O'Donnell said.

The rest was moviemaking, with Yves Simoneau, a skilled TV-movie pro, in charge. A recently closed shelter was used as the home. The filming was done over 23 quick days.

Impressions of Detroit can vary. After making "Gifted Hands," Ben Carson (the subject of the film) and Kimberly Elise (the co-star) were encouraged by signs of renewal and revival; O'Donnell was less optimistic.

"It looked like New Orleans (after the flood)," she said. "There are burned-out buildings along the way."

Still, she said she enjoyed being there. "The spirit of the people is unbelievable," O'Donnell said. "The resilience of the people."

And now moviemaking is part of the city's revival.