When I think of Diane Lane, two of her films come to mind, each role marks a point in one's romantic development. Her debut film, at age 14, was "A Little Romance" (one of my all time favorites). It was a film about "first love," set in Venice. I still remember thinking how good life can be after seeing the film back in 1979. Last year's "Unfaithful" earned Lane an Academy Award nomination for best actress (Pam and I both voted for her in the Chicago Film Critics Association balloting process). That film was about a happily married woman in her 30's; a caring mother who is restless in her life and in the right circumstances is ripe to become an adulteress. Whether as a child or an adult, it seems that when you get what you are looking for, life demands that we continue to look for something else.

Diane was in Chicago recently to promote her new film, "Under the Tuscan Sun," which opens next week. She sat down with me to discuss the romantic comedy, which is refreshingly different from the "you know how it's going to end stories'' that so often come from Hollywood. Based upon the immensely popular, best selling book by Frances Mayes (who did indeed buy a home in Italy) and shot in Tuscany, the film is part travelogue and a guideline for bouncing back from a romantic knockout.

"Much of the movie is carried by other actors," said Diane. She credits the work of her supporting cast for the fine film that resulted. Being funny and serious in the same film "is a challenge as compared to being in a "straight dramatic role like "The Perfect Storm" or "Unfaithful."

Ironically, when the film was made last October through December, it was during the rainy season and the sun-drenched landscape of Tuscany was not. When the sun did shine, they had to set up, shoot the scenes and get it right before the sun ducked behind the clouds again.

Talking about the film and real life, Diane said, "We panic looking ahead, but looking back it all makes sense." Sometimes a problem points you in a positive direction, on a path that you would never have taken if things had gone according to your plans. Things do have a way of working out.