"It knows what it is," McConaughey says of this humor-filled action movie, which opens nationally on Friday.

So what is "Sahara"? It's an adaptation of Clive Cussler's novel, one of a series of books centering on the rugged archaeologist and explorer Dirk Pitt. In "Sahara," Pitt goes looking for a Confederate ironclad that he believes is lost - believe it or don't - in the Sahara Desert. Pitt's pursuit leads him to cross paths with a Mali warlord, a ruthless French industrialist, a pollution-caused plague that may threaten the planet, and a World Health Organization doctor (Penelope Cruz) who looks hot in a tank top.

McConaughey, talking on the phone from Colorado during a cross-country drive to promote the movie, said he was turned on to the Cussler books seven years ago and pursued the chance to play Pitt on screen.

"I liked the fact that he was an explorer, a sailor, a guy who goes off to these exotic lands and pulls up these antiquities from the deep, and he always has his own personal treasure he's going after," McConaughey said. "Wherever he goes, he's able to acclimate. His address is in Washington, D.C., but his home is basically wherever he is in the world."

He's also a franchise character, like James Bond or Jack Ryan; "If it works, you want to do it time and time again," he said. For an actor like McConaughey, whose résumé ranges from serious drama ("Lone Star," "A Time to Kill") to light comedy ("The Wedding Planner") to big action ("Reign of Fire," "U-571"), a franchise is the closest thing there is to job security.

There was a catch, though: Cussler had veto over anyone cast to play Pitt.

"Clive, the author, had never approved anyone to be Dirk Pitt," McConaughey said. "He had a experience with 'Raise the Titanic' [in 1980], and he didn't like the movie, so he was hesitant to hand it over to Hollywood."

The actor said he's not sure why Cussler OK'd him for the role. But he did recall visiting the author three times. "I shared stories about my own travels, and what I got out of going to places on my own," McConaughey said. "Part of it was persistence, and going back to him a total of three times - and not asking him to come to me - showing sincere interest, and him seeing I understood and was a good guy to capture the spirit of the character." It also helped, he said, that McConaughey was willing to dye his blond hair brown.

McConaughey's role of executive producer is a new one for him, he said, at least for a movie this size. (The movie, being released by Paramount, is reportedly in the $130 million range.) He has turned down producer's credits before, because "the work you do needs to merit that title," he said.

That work on "Sahara" started with his pursuit of the role and carried over into his meetings with director Breck Eisner (who worked on the miniseries "Taken" and, yes, is the son of Disney CEO Michael Eisner) about the movie's tone and casting.

Being a producer is about "having some soil under my fingernails on scenes that don't involve Dirk Pitt," he said. And it also covers the 29-day publicity tour he took to promote the movie. "I'm looking on it as me finishing the job," he said.

"In my mind, we've already gone and made a good movie," McConaughey said. "There are a lot of films out there that have turned into franchises that don't work as well as this film works. . . . We'll pretty much know after the first weekend" whether there's a chance for more Dirk Pitt movies.

McConaughey is keeping busy in any event. His production company, j.k. livin (short for his personal motto, "just keep livin' "), has six projects in various stages of pre-production.

"Some of these we've been cultivating for 10 years," he said. "A lot of the things we're developing at j.k. livin, if it doesn't end up being for me, it will be a good male lead role for somebody."

Some are harder to get off the ground than others. One, an Elmore Leonard adaptation called "Tishomingo Blues," was in motion with McConaughey and Don Cheadle - and with Cheadle directing - when the financing fell through. McConaughey is still confident the movie will get made.

When producing movies, he said, "you learn a lot of agility, man."

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Got a question about the movies? Send it to movie critic Sean P. Means: The Salt Lake Tribune, 143 S. Main St., second floor, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, or e-mail at movies@sltrib.com.