Techcrunch reports today that Ashton Kutcher and his company “Katalyst Media” has signed a deal with AOL to distribute 5 programs, each with 20 mini episodes, one of which is a project called “Blah Girls”. Ashton will be announcing the project publically at the Techcrunch50, a conference designed to introduce internet startups to Venture Capitalists and the media. The company is seeking $10 Million in funding.

I’ve never appreciated all of Hollywood’s ambitions when it comes to internet development as it has always smacked of commercialization; the notion that in order to be successful offline that something must be developed for consumption online, and this brings with it a degree of transparency. It lacks the heart and soul required to truly share. It can be masked, but when all is said and done, it has a “ride hard, put away wet” mentality that I find offensive, where success is measured by how many uniques you can drive to your campaign. But here we have Ashton Kutcher, who apparently can’t contain his excitement for this project, and from what I have seen of his work in the last 10 years, he seems to be the perfect guy to head such an endeavor. Whether you like him or not (I didnt until The Butterfly Affect), his youthful antics and engaging spirit is exactly the kind of energy needed to crossover into mainstream online entertainment, and bring with the the requisite enthusiasm for the medium.

According to the Washington Post and their EconoClast10, Ashton Kutcher is ranked 3rd on a list of ten most influential and innovative online celebrities, a list headed by Will Ferrell.

You can read more about the announcement on the Techcrunch50 website and also watch a video that Ashton and his partner submitted in advance of the announcement. I would have to bet that with his personality style, it won’t be that difficult to get everyone on board.