David Dalessandro is a
University of Pittsburgh administrator, currently serving as the associate vice chancellor of university development. Outside of his service to the
Pitt community, Dalessandro is best known as the unlikely creator of
Snakes on a Plane. Citing as inspiration an article he read about
World War II pilots having trouble in the
Pacific with snakes sneaking into cargo holds, he penned the original screenplay for the 2006
Samuel L. Jackson thriller in 1992 and developed the script for the following years. In 1995, Dalessandro pitched the script to and was rejected by 30 studios until
New Line Cinema accepted it in 2004.