BusinessReport.com

Scott Poche never had any interest in entering the movie business. But after he got a call from a longtime friend, he found himself working for a unique Baton Rouge business, one that has made a name for itself working on Hollywood projects such as the former Fox television series K-Ville, the Hayden Christensen action movie Jumper and the upcoming Sandra Bullock comedy All About Steve.

Poche works for River Road Creative, a five-person operation that works on the movie title credits and full-service advertising campaigns for clients such as the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, St. Tammany Parish Hospital and the LSU Health Sciences Center.

His title is director of business operations for River Road Creative, but Poche has several duties, such as serving as a producer, handling budgets, hiring the people to shoot a commercial or title sequence and working as a liaison between clients and the company. “The thing for us is that when we’re given a budget, to show the client that we put all of that money up on the screen,” he says. “That’s important when you’re getting started out.”

Being a go-between for the creative and the business end suits him well. Before he joined River Road in May 2007, he worked for the city-parish planning department and as a pharmaceutical salesman and manager.

Richie Adams, who had been friends with Poche for 20 years since they were students at Catholic High School, had recently returned to Baton Rouge after years of working in Hollywood designing title credits for movies such as Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which starred Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Vince Vaughn, and S.W.A.T., which starred Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell. Adams recruited him because he wanted someone with a business background he could trust.

For his part, Poche says he wanted to work for a local startup business that was bringing something new to Louisiana. “This is something that’s unique,” he says.

It was a difficult transition to go from medicine to movies, Poche says, especially dealing with quick-talking Hollywood types. “It was a different culture,” he says. “I got used to things once they started to happen the second time, when I dealt with people on projects again. Then I knew what questions to ask.”

In a little over a year of business, River Road Creative has grown. They’re now taking up two suites in an office building off College Drive. Poche jokes he’s getting used to having his own office after initially sharing space with Adams.

Oddly enough, K-Ville is the only Louisiana-made production on which River Road Creative has worked. Poche says directors usually choose credit designers based on word of mouth or past experiences—the firm got Jumper because Adams had worked with director Doug Liman on Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

“But we’re hoping as the Louisiana movie industry grows, we can continue to be a part of it,” he says. “We’re bringing something unique.”