Caffeine casting

Filmmaking can be a fickle business, but one person is guaranteed a callback on set: whoever makes the coffee. Tommy’s TV owner and 30-year-old Baton Rouge native Tommy Talley had just spent six years as a camera operator for reality shows in Los Angeles, and it didn’t take him long to realize that quality caffeine, a key creature comfort for productions in California, was missing in his hometown. “I thought, ‘What do you mean there’s no coffee truck on set?’ ” Talley partnered with film industry friend Fred Mince, bought a truck off eBay and launched A Coffee Truck last fall. The truck services events throughout the city—locations can be found at twitter.com/acoffeetruck—and on film shoots, including a recent gig serving the Breaking Dawn crew. “I wanted some creative independence,” says Talley, who still works as a camera operator, video editor and director. “I wanted to take control of my life, and this is so much fun.” Click here to read more about this LA-inspired business.—Jeff Roedel