Mary Kay Place, TV and movie veteran, jumps from character actress to leading lady in new movie 'Diane'

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Actress Mary Kay Place has been in show business for more than 45 years. In her new movie, "Diane," she gets top billing for the very first time in her career.

"I'm in every single, solitary scene and that was a little daunting, too," said Place. "I thought, 'Do I have the stamina for that?' But it really turned out to be, in a way, easier to not stop and start but just go with the flow throughout the whole film. And it was really an adventure for me and I loved every minute of it."

The film is about a woman who's always doing things for others, in part, perhaps to avoid confronting something from the past she can't make just go away.

"This movie's about process," said Place. "It's about growth and people slowly--after repeating and repeating and repeating old behavior--getting a sliver of an idea of moving forward and transformation."

In the film, Diane needs her drug-addicted son to get the help he needs before it's too late. It was shot in 20 days by a crew Place calls young, passionate and hungry to make a good movie, even on what apparently wasn't even a shoestring budget.

"This was about a third of a shoestring," joked Place. "And you know what? We had just as much money as we needed."

Place shared what transpired when writer-director Kent Jones originally told her about his idea for the movie.

"He said, 'I want to write a movie and I want you to be the lead in it and play my mother.' And I said, 'You'll never get a dime for this movie,'" said Place. "I'm so excited to hear this but no one's going to make this movie!"

It took a couple of years but it got made! The end result, "Diane", is on the big screen March 29.