TINSELTOWN SPYWITNESS.

Byline: Joel-Stratte-McClure

WE ARE HOT: The two Matthews -- that would be McConaughey and Fox -- wear outdated '70s duds as football coaches in the film ``We Are Marshall,'' opening today (review on page 13). But they made a very serious contemporary fashion statement before the premiere of the film at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

``Can someone please get this man on the cover of GQ!'' McConaughey shouted after he and Fox compared their threads with the pinstriped Paul Smith suit worn by director McG, who was accompanied by ``good friend'' Drew Barrymore.

But McConaughey is still considered the sexiest of the threesome by some people.

``When my wife learned that one of the sexiest men in the world would portray me, I immediately got a lot more respect around the house,'' said Jack Lengyel, whose inspirational coaching enabled the Marshall University football team to rise from the ashes of the 1970 plane crash that took the lives of 75 players, relatives and fans. ``He looks, talks and walks like a coach.''

The two Matthews, the rest of the cast and guests -- including Anthony Mackie, Kate Mara, January Jones, Kimberly Williams, Brian Geraghty, Josh Holloway, Mark McGrath, Lance Armstrong, James Denton, Harold Perrineau and Garcelle Beauvais -- partied like a reborn football team at the tailgate on the corner of Hollywood and Orange following the premiere.

McConaughey tackled an In-N-Out double-double burger while cheerleaders clad in green-and-white Marshall letter jackets went for kettle corn, frosted cupcakes and kegs of beer. A loud ``We Are Marshall'' school chant frequently overpowered the DJ and left the ``Lost'' Matthew yearning for the calm of Hawaii.

``I've got to get back to Honolulu to see my kids,'' Fox said as he puffed on a cigarette under the heat lamps.

`VEIL' OF SECRECY: Naomi Watts didn't volunteer much information about her romance with Liev Schreiber when the two walked the red carpet at the premiere of ``The Painted Veil.'' She was mum about marital rumors and didn't offer any juicy tidbits about the couple's adulterous on-screen affair.

But Watts and everyone else at the Cabana Club after party unabashedly praised co-star Edward Norton and screenwriter Ron Nyswaner for their stamina during the decade it took to make the film based on W. Somerset Maugham's novel.

``Working with Edward, who was so enthusiastic for so long about this great script, was definitely the original attraction for me,'' said Watts, dressed in a cream-colored Givenchy dress.

``Then I began to love the dramatic transformation made by my character after her infidelity jeopardizes her marriage.''

``Veil'' recently won Nyswaner, who wrote ``Philadelphia,'' an award for the year's best adapted screenplay from National Board of Review, which put the movie on its Top 10 list. ``Edward was the engine for this project and kept it on the rails,'' said Nyswaner, who's now adapting ``Buffalo for the Broken Heart'' with Norton.

Norton believes that there's a lot to be learned from the timeless 1920s love story that also features Toby Jones and was shot primarily in China.

``The film resonates because of the challenging theme of forgiveness,'' Norton said as he greeted Ben Harper, Laura Dern, Joseph Cross, Matt Dallas, Simon Baker, Jackie Earl Haley, Scott Clifton and other guests. ``It was a privilege to take so much time to work on something of this scale and quality.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) McCONAUGHEY, McG and FOX: Looking good on the red carpet

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

(2) WATTS and SCHREIBER: Relationship details not forthcoming

Mark Mainz/Getty Images