Bob Balaban is the author of the McGrowl series and the Creature from the Seventh Grade series. He has appeared in nearly one hundred movies, including Midnight Cowboy , Close Encounters of the Third Kind , Waiting for Guffman , and Moonrise Kingdom . He has been nominated for an Oscar, a Tony, four Emmys, a Producers Guild Award, two Directors Guild Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, one of which he won for his appearance in Gosford Park , a film he also produced. A Chicago native, Bob now lives in Bridgehampton, NY.