Dexter High School first got some feature-film-love early this year, when the crew of the Hilary Swank movie “Betty Anne Waters” filmed exterior shots there.

David Schwimmer

But the building and its students will likely play an even larger role in “Trust” — directed by David Schwimmer, starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener — which will shoot inside the school for four days, Nov. 10-13.

“I have a feeling that we were in the hopper because we were a place they used last spring,” said DHS principal Kit Moran, referencing the “Waters” shoot. “(Location scouts) already knew who we were.”

“Trust” tells the story of a young girl who falls prey to an online predator. Moran got to read the script shortly after he was contacted about the film four weeks ago.

“The intent of the movie script is very serious, and I think that’s one of the reasons we made sure we talked with members of the administration about whether or not we should allow them to film here, and whether it goes along with the values we have as a school,” said Moran. “(The movie)’s got a great lesson about how dangerous cyberspace and texting can be when you don’t know who is on the other end.”

One scene they’ll be shooting at DHS involves a school volleyball game. (Though the fictional Illinois school in the film won’t be called Dexter High, it will adopt DHS’ school colors, maroon and gold, and use DHS’ “D” symbol.)

“We’re waiting on details about how students and others can apply to work as extras,” said Moran. “They’re interested in using our kids for filming, which will be a nice thing for them — to get exposure to what working in that world (of filmmaking) would be like. … They’re looking for a lot of kids that look 16. I told them, ‘We make ‘em here.’”

In addition to Dexter, AnnArbor.com reported yesterday that the former Pfizer site in Ann Arbor will also host some filming for the movie.

The Dexter filming will take place on days when school is in session, which will likely make things challenging for both the faculty and the student body. (A couple of teachers won't be able to use their classrooms, for example, so they will be relocated.) But Moran believes the potential payoff is worth a few days of distracted excitement.

“It’s certainly going to take some management by me and the administrators and the others who help around school,” said Moran. “It’s going to be disrupting, yes, but when we think globally about how we want to attract people to Washtenaw County, and specifically to Dexter, then you think about, if there are 100 people in the crew that blow into Dexter, … and they each buy a cup of coffee, suddenly, you’ve got a lot of business in the community that isn’t often here. … We try our best to work well with outside companies, movie crews or otherwise, and if that attracts business to Dexter, we’ll do that.”

Scouts reportedly liked the look of the school, as well as the layout, in terms of potential camera angles for shots. A costume designer spent time at DHS Friday morning, hanging out and taking photos of students to find out what kids in a suburban Midwest high school are wearing now.

On four or five other occasions, Schwimmer himself has appeared at DHS with the film’s cinematographer in order to do some planning. Not surprisingly, this causes a stir among students, but it also launched some gossip about how Schwimmer supposedly planned to come to DHS’ production of “Back to the Reality” this past weekend.

“That was a great rumor,” said Moran. “What happened was, … they were just having a conversation about a particular shot last week, and so they were standing in the hallway, and one of the kids in the school production sauntered up and invited (Schwimmer) to come to the play. He was very polite, … but I think he probably said something like that parenting thing we say, ‘Maybe later,’ which really means, ‘Probably not, but I don’t want to be mean to you.’ And somehow, that conversation soon turned into ‘I’m coming Saturday.’”

Obviously, to say that DHS students are excited about their upcoming brush with Hollywood would be an understatement.

“It’s going to get worse,” Moran said. “But it’s cute, and it breaks up the monotony. … And from the PR point of view, it’s not bad, either.”

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.