Mystery Movie Being Filmed in Milwaukee With Kevin Spacey

Two Milwaukee Police Department block N. Richards St.. on April 23. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

There are more questions than answers, but one thing is clear: a movie is being filmed in Milwaukee and actor Kevin Spacey is involved.

A trail of permits, detours and job postings reveals that Road Worthy, an independent production, is being filmed in Glendale and Milwaukee.

“The last DMV in the former United States” is the premise of the low-budget film, according to its writer.

A Milwaukee Department of Public Works permit indicates Friday is the final day of filming in the Riverworks area at the north end of Riverwest. An earlier permit was for E. Reservoir Avenue near N. Humboldt Avenue.

The production team, New York-based Road Worthy, LLC, is also approved to film at a warehouse in Glendale for two months.

A Glendale temporary zoning use approval request from February lists Kevin Spacey’s manager Evan Lowenstein as the primary contact for filming at a warehouse at 5055 N. Lydell Avenue.

Spacey has been spotted several times the Milwaukee area in recent weeks, including courtside at a Bucks game next to Good Karma Brands CEO Craig Karmazin, in a Waukesha Starbucks and, most significantly, in a car on E. Vienna Avenue.

It’s the latter location where the most visible action is taking place.

On Wednesday, police could be seen directing traffic to detours along N. Holton and N. Richards streets. A DPW permit gives the production to occupy the parking lanes on Vienna Avenue and Richards, Booth, Bremen and Fratney streets in the area generally bounded by Vienna Avenue, E. Keefe Avenue, N. Weil Street and N. Richards Street.

Spacey faced several allegations of sexual misconduct in 2017, including for decades-old incidents. The actor has denied the allegations, but was removed by Netflix from the final season of “House of Cards.” He was found not liable in a 2022 civil suit related to the accusations of one accuser and was acquitted in a 2023 criminal case in London for sexual assault.

Actor Michael Roman, the film’s writer and director, appeared before the Glendale Planning and Architectural Review Commission on March 4 to secure approval for the temporary filming use. Roman, appeared as an assistant in the Netflix show “Grace and Frankie.”

The Glendale property is owned by Phoenix Investors, a Milwaukee-based industrial property firm.

An individual who answered Lowenstein’s phone on Thursday hung up after saying hello.