How many opportunities does the Academy think they're going to get?

Ridley Scott is now 78. David Bowie and Alan Rickman, legends who sadly died this week, were 69 and both looked as fit as a fiddle (I can personally testify in the latter case because I briefly met Alan Rickman last April). I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt that Scott has that many movies left, as ambitious as his current schedule may be.

So why has the Academy, yet again, snubbed the opportunity to honour one of the most visionary and significant directors of the last forty years?!? Especially in a year in which his The Martian grossed an incredible amount of money at the domestic and global box-office, being one of the few top ten hits in recent years to not be a sequel, prequel, or comic-book/young adult adaptation, and received rapturous reviews.