[2][3] Arata was raised in the San Francisco suburbs and attended UC Santa Cruz, where he studied painting, theater and film.
He has collaborated with many influential directors, including Peter Weir on the still unmade Pattern Recognition,[6] Alfonso Cuarón on Children of Men, [7] and Tony Scott on Spy Game.
[8] His screenplays have attracted the participation of Hollywood stars, including Brad Pitt, Robert Redford, Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale, Clive Owen, and Julianne Moore.
[2] More recently, David has broadened his focus to include serialized television, adapting Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s graphic novel, From Hell, to produce for FX,[12] and Dreamland (AKA Nightrise) created for Spike TV.
[13] He is also slated to produce a film based on Adam Penenberg’s nonfiction book Tragic Indifference: One Man's Battle with the Auto Industry alongside Michael Douglas.