Campion to direct Sundance/BBC small

Sundance Funnel and BBC Worldwide have inked an offer to co-produce "The surface of the Lake," a seven-episode scripted miniseries directed by "Vibrant Star" helmer Jane Campion and Garth Davis, and starring "Mad Males" thesp Elisabeth Moss and Campion's "Piano" collab (and Oscar champion for that role) Carol Hunter. The small, composed by Campion and Gerard Lee, will even star Peter Mullan and David Wenham, and will also be created by See-Saw Films' Emile Sherman and Iain Canning ("The King's Speech"), and Escapade Pictures' Philippa Campbell. It is the second scripted greenlight from Sundance now, using the net's first wholly-possessed project, scripted drama "Rectify," damaged by Variety the 2009 week. You will find more in the future, based on Sundance g.m. and professional veep Sarah Barnett. "We are carrying out a lot more than we have ever needed to scripted drama on Sundance," Barnett stated inside a phone interview. "You want to unveil a proper quantity of scripted shows." Requested the way the internet would distinguish itself from drama-centric sister cabler AMC because it ramped up its slate, Barnett stated she thought the city was large enough for the pair of them. "They are led by something which kind of defies formula, much like we," she stated. "You will find lots of great projects -- enough for everyone, therefore we don't be concerned about walking on toes." Contact Mike Thielman at mike.thielman@variety.com