Todd Hill, proud Pittsburgh Steelers fan, grills ribeye steaks for the cast and crew of "Betty Anne Waters."

With a heads up from a Stopped.Watched. item filed by Juliew this morning, we made a  detour through the State Street area while out on assignment for a different story, to see how things were going with the filming of the movie “Betty Anne Waters.” It stars Hilary Swank, Minnie Driver and Sam Rockwell.

Around noon there was no sign of movie stars, but boy did it smell good! Todd Hill, who works with Hanna Brothers, which specializes in motion picture set catering, had ribeyes sizzling on his grill set up on the sidewalk outside the University of Michigan Museum of Art on State Street. Denis Giffen of Royal Oak, who drives for Teamsters local 337, remarked that, “Downwind, it’s even worse!” And by “worse,” he allowed, he meant “better.” Hill said that the ribeyes were the red meat part of the day’s menu for the cast and crew, which every day includes red meat, fish, poultry, and vegetarian options.

The Chronicle tried not to pester Hill with paparazzi-like questions. So we have no idea what Hilary Swank likes to eat, or if she chews with her mouth closed. Besides, what we figured Chronicle readers would most want to know – on the eve of Fat Tuesday – was this: Would the cast and crew be served paczkis tomorrow?

Not paczkis. These ribeye steaks were getting grilled for the cast and crew of the movie "Betty Anne Waters."

That question drew a blank stare from Pittsburgh native Hill. He had no idea what paczkis were, he said. Plus, the guy who makes the menu decisions is chef Steve Faust. The same question to Faust drew the same response. [Maybe we were pronouncing it wrong?] When we explained that paczkis were something of a tradition around these parts, his tone seemed a little apologetic: “If I’d known further in advance, I would have done something!”

Unless someone undertakes to deliver some lovely jelly-filled pastries to the set tomorrow, it’s a fair assumption that Hilary Swank will be paczki-less.

The movie is about Betty Anne Waters, a woman who overcame obstacles to complete a law degree so that she could clear her bother’s name, who was convicted of a murder she believed he did not commit.