Keanu Reeves says there is no rhyme or reason to the pattern of his career.

"There is no scheme," Reeves said recently during Cannes Film Festival interviews. "I'm making this up as I go along here."

Reeves said that's why he decided to shake it up following The Matrix sequels. His credits since then fall into a variety of genres ranging from the youth drama Thumbsucker to the sci-fi thriller Constantine, Richard Linklater's bizarre animated sci-fi A Scanner Darkly (slated for release later this summer) and finally to The Lake House, a romantic mystery that opens today.

"The only guiding principle is trying to get good work and interesting roles," Reeves said of choosing his films.

The Lake House, despite the time-shift plot that touches upon the surreal, is mainstream in terms of emotion, Reeves said. "It is all romance all the time."

Part of the appeal in replacing original leading man John Cusack was the chance to co-star with his Speed pal Bullock for the first time since that 1994 hit. "She is a lovely person," Reeves said, "and we've kept in contact over the years, so it was cool to hook up again."

Following the Lake House shoot, Reeves took a year off from acting, spending his time both in therapy and in his office developing personal film projects. They include a chef story, a policier and a bank heist adventure movie set during the Spanish Civil War.

Meanwhile, Reeves has been attached to three other films in pre-production: Fishing For Moonlight, The Night Watchman and Stompanato, with Reeves set to play Hollywood mobster Johnny Stompanato opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones as movie star Lana Turner.