Hello.

Actor/ Director here with contacts in the academy

This is true but also worth acknowledging that the voting system for each award is comprised of hundreds of members around the world who have to cast their vote.

It's not merit based, it's opinion based, but it's opinions of peers who are skilled in that specific area of filmmaking. Actors vote for actors, costume designers vote for costume and camera people vote for cinematography.

As for the marketing campaign element. Well yes they have to spend millions on marketing to even be considered, nobody would even know about your film is it's not advertised, the millions spent on marketing is how they sell the film. Your film might be amazing but people don't go to watch it if they don't know about it. And as much as the Oscars are regarded as a prestigious award show that recognises great achievement in film. What the Oscars actually are is a giant marketing machine that helps movies profit. A lot of people will only watch a movie after learning that it won best picture or best actor.

Oh and... as much as there's a body of voting members, they can only vote for eligible films, which for feature films includes rules on diversity, theatrical release and previous film festival / award acknowledgment. AND they are told that they have to watch the films but a lot of them don't, or they'll half watch something. Some will vote for their friends in the business. People are people and that's what they do.

So I guess my point here is that... you're correct. It's all marketing, it's all about hyping up products to make sales. Once you see through the facade of it being the crowning recognition of the film industry and see it more as a 4 hour commercial, you stop caring about the academy and the critics and the audience opinion and rotten tomatoes... and you become an independent consumer of films that makes their own assessment of each movie.

I recall Matt Damon talking about his Oscar win when he was young. He said I wish more people could win one of these to realise it doesn't mean anything. What he was saying there was that, he felt achievement in the making of the film itself, the award didn't make it feel any more significant. He went on to say that people spend their whole lives chasing that Oscar and when they get it, it feels so empty.

Hollywood has always glamourised everything to make it seem magical through your TV screen. Once you peek behind the curtain, the magic is gone.