On the set of "The Train Robbers", in June 1972, he told Nancy Anderson of Copley News Service that winning the Oscar for "The Last Picture Show" was not going to change him and he would not raise his salary request to studios because of it. He continued, "I grew up on a ranch and I know livestock, so I like working in Westerns. All my life I've been afraid of failure. To avoid it, I've stuck with doing things I know how to do, and it's made me a good living".