Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

'Outsourced's' Bader Stunned by Accusations Against Show/What Katie Holmes', J-Lo's, Rihanna's Handbags Say About Them

Diedrich Bader sounds downright shocked when told of commentary, on TV.com and other sites, accusing his forthcoming NBC "Outsourced" comedy of racist stereotyping — based on the show's trailers and promos. The series has Ben Rappaport as the manager of a call processing center recently outsourced to Mumbai, India, for a U.S. novelty company.

"What? The stereotypes are office stereotypes," responds the former "Drew Carey Show" actor. "There's the boy who wants to get laid, the assistant manager who wants to be manager. They're personalities everyone recognizes. The point is, the guy goes all the way to India and finds it's the same office, just stranger food."

In fact, referring to merchandise shown on the series such as cheese wedge hats and "jingle boobs," he points out, "The idea of seeing us through our cultural detritus — the show easily satirizes us through our novelties, our stuff, what amuses us, what we enjoy. It's the Americans who should be worried."

Bader notes that because his character, Charlie, "is so removed from the Indian experience, I stayed apart from the Indian actors while we were making the pilot by design. It wasn't until the upfronts (new season presentations) that we hung out together as a cast. These guys are the friendliest guys in the world. The guy who plays Manmeet (Sacha Dhawan) is hilarious. I loved to see how they brought the script alive. It's going to be so much fun. I can't wait to get to work." They start shooting in August.

"Pairing our show with 'The Office' on Thursday nights is perfect," Bader adds.

Bader has been focusing on voice work (like the cartoon "Batman") and series guest roles in recent years. He recalls wrapping the short-lived "Center of the Universe" when he and his wife "had a brand-new kid and another kid on the way. I was really missing something. I wanted to take some time to be with my family." He was ready to jump back into the series game by the time he talked to former "Drew Carey" writer Robert Borden about "Outsourced." Borden is now executive producer on "Outsourced" along with Ken Kwapis. We suggest they, and NBC, batten down their hatches at premiere time.

MATCHING HANDBAG: "You can perfectly watch the evolution of celebrity for an actress in relation to her handbag." So says Aussie style maven and media personality Kathryn Eisman, who claims she has put two years of dedicated study into her unique psychological profiling approach.

For instance: "Katie Holmes is a perfect example. She started off looking, well, quite homely on the red carpet — the one-strap shoulder bag girl next door, the bag probably nobody styled. Along comes Tom Cruise, and we saw her transformed with an Hermes bag that captured the imagination, the ultimate power player French luxury bag." Make that a $40,000 French luxury bag, according to Eisman. She adds, "Now she's more the Armani Prive, a little softer, maybe much more in keeping with who she is.

"Jennifer Lopez is another fantastic example," says Eisman — who's heading to the States over the weekend for New York and L.A. promotional chores on behalf of her new "How to Tell a Woman by Her Handbag" book next week. She goes on, "When she was in her Jenny From the Block period, she carried the almost ghetto chic bling bag. She grew up and went into the streamlined, structured, ladylike, elegant bag. Re-entering the spotlight after the birth of her twins, she went back to a little younger and funkier handbag."

Rihanna's choice of purse changed from "sweet, girly, sexy bags to hard, even spiky bags after the Chris Brown incident," Eisman found.

The pop culture maven does handbag analyses of everyday women in her latest tome, not just those who can afford Hermes. She'll be seen on the "Today" show Tuesday (7/6).

THE INDUSTRY EYE: While Robert Pattinson is busy celebrating the box-office bonanza of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," there's also work to be done. He's in the midst of shooting "Water for Elephants" with Reese Witherspoon, which has been located in downtown L.A. the last couple of days with at least some cast members who apparently share Edward Cullen's pasty pallor. Forces on the film have been seeking proficient Foxtrot dancers who are not only Caucasian, but "very, very pale — not a suntan at all," who are thin, with no implants and no piercings, according to casting notices. There was also the need for a very pale cigarette girl, and a very pale man with a 32-inch waist. The pallid faces and thinness have nothing to do with vampires on this movie, of course. Based on Sara Gruen's acclaimed novel, it is set in the 1930s Great Depression and, as notices remind, "nobody's doing well."

MORE THAN A PARTY: Happy Independence Day to one and all, and a thoughtful note from Jimmy Smits, who is hosting the 30th Annual "A Capitol Fourth" event being carried on PBS from the nation's Capitol. After performances from the likes of David Archuleta, Reba McEntire and Gladys Knight, the show ends with a phantasmagoria of fireworks. "To have this fireworks display in Washington, D.C., is so moving because of the backdrops of the national monuments," notes Smits. "Being that we're in a time of conflict and having young people serving and protecting us, to me, it kind of focuses what it is that the fireworks represent for the country."

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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