On the Awards Trail, ‘F1’ Producer Jerry Bruckheimer Felt Like the Underdog

On the awards campaign trail with the racing drama “F1,” Jerry Bruckheimer felt a little bit like the underdog. That was partly because of his history with the Oscars: Considering his long and storied career, which includes everything from producing Michael Mann’s debut feature “Thief” to overseeing global franchises such as “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Pirates of the Caribbean,” it seems like a miscalculation that Bruckheimer didn’t get his first Best Picture nomination until 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick.”

But beyond that, the veteran producer noticed something when he asked audiences at each screening how many in the theater were seeing “F1” for the first time. “Eighty-five percent of…