The story is credited to David Dalessandro, a University of Pittsburgh administrator and first-time Hollywood writer. He developed the concept in 1992 after reading a nature magazine article about Indonesian brown tree snakes climbing onto planes in cargo during World War II. He originally wrote the screenplay about the brown tree snake loose on a plane, titling the film "Venom". He soon revised it, expanding upon the premise to include a plague of assorted venomous snakes, then—crediting the film "Aliens"—revised it once again to include "lots of them loose in the fuselage of a plane." Dalessandro's third draft of "Venom" was turned down by more than 30 Hollywood studios in 1995. In 1999, a producer for MTV/Paramount showed interest in the script, followed up by New Line Cinema, which took over the rights for production.