Editing Treehouse of Horror XII (section)

==Production==
[[File:Pierce Brosnan Berlinale 2014.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[Pierce Brosnan]]'s role as Ultrahouse in "House of Whacks" was originally intended for [[Sean Connery]].]]

"Treehouse of Horror XII" was directed by [[Jim Reardon]] and co-written by [[Joel H. Cohen]], [[John Frink]], [[Don Payne (writer)|Don Payne]] and [[Carolyn Omine]].<ref name="Scully" /> It is the twelfth episode of the annual ''Treehouse of Horror'' Halloween specials, and, due to Fox's contract with [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[World Series]], the episode was pushed back to November 6, 2001, on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]], airing six days after [[Halloween]].<ref name="Scully" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Pick of the Day: The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XVII|last=Ryan|first=Andrew|newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=November 4, 2006|page=12}}</ref><ref name="nydailynews" /> As with the rest of the Halloween specials, the episode is considered non-canon and falls outside of the show's regular continuity. This was the first Halloween special where the writers did not have "scary names" in the credits.<ref name="Maxtone-Graham">{{cite video | people=Maxtone-Graham, Ian|date=2010|title=The Simpsons season 13 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror XII"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> This was due to the [[September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks on September 11]], after which the staff were "trying to be sensitive", and, according to producer [[Ian Maxtone-Graham]], the Halloween names would all reference the attacks had they been kept.<ref name="Maxtone-Graham" /> Mike Scully, who worked as showrunner for the episode, stated that the "scary names" were removed because they had also "turned into shameless plugs" for side projects done by ''The Simpsons''{{'}} staff members.<ref name="Scully">{{cite video | people=Scully, Mike|date=2010|title=The Simpsons season 13 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror XII"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

The first segment, "Hex and the City", was written by Joel Cohen.<ref name="Cohen">{{cite video | people=Cohen, Joel|date=2010|title=The Simpsons season 13 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror XII"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The gypsy fortune teller in the segment was portrayed by [[Tress MacNeille]] while the leprechaun was played by [[Dan Castellaneta]].<ref name="Jean" /><ref name="Omine" /> Current [[showrunner]] [[Al Jean]] stated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode that the leprechaun seen at the end of the segment was "as much as [he] had ever laughed" at the color screening for the episode.<ref name="Jean">{{cite video | people=Jean, Al|date=2010|title=The Simpsons season 13 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror XII"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> He stated that the way the leprechaun moved and the way Reardon directed it was "just so funny".<ref name="Jean" /> The leprechaun has reappeared many times since the episode, becoming one of few characters on ''The Simpsons'' to "leap from Halloween [shows] to regular shows".<ref name="Jean" />

"House of Whacks" was co-written by John Frink and Don Payne.<ref name="Frink">{{cite video|people=Frink, John|year=2010|title=The Simpsons season 13 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror XII"|medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref><ref name="Payne">{{cite video| people=Payne, Don|year=2010|title=The Simpsons season 13 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror XII"|medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Payne, who conceived the story of the segment, based it on [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s film ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]''.<ref name="Payne"/> The segment would originally end with the Ultrahouse killing Homer, and, for compensation, the family would program the house with Homer's personality.<ref name="Payne" /> The Ultrahouse was portrayed by [[Pierce Brosnan]]. The role was originally intended for [[Sean Connery]], and over the course of production, the staff also considered [[Lyle Lovett]] and [[Gary Oldman]].<ref name="Payne" /> The decision remained until "someone who worked for [Lovett] decided it was somehow insulting to have him play a house", according to Scully.<ref name="Scully"/> At this point, the staff settled on Brosnan.<ref name="Scully" /> Scully stated that "Brosnan wound up doing a great job" and that working with him was "really funny".<ref name="Scully"/> Originally, the Ultrahouse would have a pompadour and play the guitar, however they changed its mannerisms to suit Brosnan's performance better.<ref name="Scully"/> [[Matthew Perry]] also made a guest appearance, playing himself as one of Ultrahouse's voice options.<ref name="Scully"/> Regular cast member [[Dan Castellaneta]] portrayed [[Dennis Miller]] in the segment (a special ending credit had to be made to avoid confusion with viewers who thought the real Dennis Miller did voice-work on the show).<ref name="Scully"/> One scene was cut from the segment.<ref name="JeanDeleted"/> The scene would take place during Marge's call to the police station, where police chief Clancy Wiggum, while answering Marge's call, is being shot at by "[[RoboCop (character)|RoboCops]]".<ref name="JeanDeleted">{{cite video|people=Jean, Al|year=2010|title=The Simpsons season 13 DVD commentary for "All Deleted Scenes"|medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

The third segment, "Wiz Kids", was written by [[Carolyn Omine]].<ref name="Jean"/> Omine stated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode that the segment was "a really hard sell", since only about four of the writers had read ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'', the book the segment was based on, while the rest of the writers did not know about the book and thought viewers would not know who [[Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter]] was.<ref name="Omine">{{cite video|people=Omine, Carolyn|date=2010|title=The Simpsons season 13 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror XII"|medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> At the time of the episode's production, four books had been written in the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series and the film adaptation of ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'' would be released November 16, ten days after this episode aired.<ref name="Omine"/> Two scenes were cut from the segment; one of them would serve as an extension of Montymort and Slithers plotting their scheme, followed by a scene showing Bart combing his hair, while the other scene would show [[Groundskeeper Willie]] riding an enchanted lawn mower.<ref name="JeanDeleted" /> The latter scene was cut for time.<ref name="JeanDeleted"/>