"By being somewhat low-key about the relationship, it worked to the film's advantage," says Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.
Offscreen the somewhat unlikely couple is going strong. Looks-wise, the appeal is obvious. He's got the sizzling bod his trainer Gunnar Peterson deems "the total package." She's got the sultry curves that made her Spain's leading sex symbol. He loves pickup trucks, barbecues and camping in his $65,000 Airstream trailer, which he drove around the country on a six-week promotional tour. Her? Well, she's learning to love those activities too-one of the couple's early getaways last summer was to Big River Oak Camp, about 150 miles west of Austin. "They are very happy with each other," says her friend Salma Hayek. "They're a very good couple."
Indeed, the Texas dude and the Spanish siren have more in common than good looks. Both know celebrity relationships (she dated Tom Cruise; he, Sandra Bullock) and offer few words about their romance. "He's smart, he's funny," says Cruz. "I never talk about my private life, but we're going to start lying, you know, and say I'm expecting five kids." Humor helped them bond on-set. When a Sahara scene called for them to quaff tequila, "she took a sip and flinched," says director Breck Eisner. "Matthew had replaced her fake tequila with real tequila. I think they kept drinking the real stuff throughout the night."
McConaughey, who joined Cruz's family on a Caribbean vacation in January, dismisses wedding talk. "You don't see a ring on my finger, do you?" he said recently. But pals are rooting for them. "From the inside out, they're hot," says Peterson, who has worked with both. "I like to see when good people happen to good people."
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