Ashton Kutcher the Movie Producer?

"That '70s Show" hottie Ashton Kutcher wasn't kidding when he told us early this year that he aimed to dive into producing.

On top of his regular show schedule, the 23-year-old has finished coproducing next year's big-screen "The Guest" romantic comedy in which he stars with Tara Reid. He also has a deal in place for another feature -- on which he's serving as producer and cowriter, but not as star -- for Miramax. And he's in the casting phase of coproducing a new series for MTV.

"I don't sleep very much, and I'm not taking weekends off these days," notes the one-time University of Iowa biochemistry major, best known for his dopey Kelso "'70s Show" character. "But that's good, because I'm a troublemaker at heart, and as long as I'm working I'm not making trouble."

Well, actually, it sounds like with his MTV series, he will make trouble. It's called "Harassment," and he describes it as "a guerrilla style 'Candid Camera'" -- with a difference. It's "young people pulling pranks on older people. Not seniors, just people older than they are. We're going to have improv actors playing off each other, working in a smooth, nonchalant way, so it's not obvious they're acting, harassing people without them knowing they're going to be harassed, which is a beautiful thing. We're empowering the youth," he deadpans. "It's a show about enabling young people."

Kutcher, who has Miramax's "Texas Rangers" opening (at last) next month, says he made his deal for "Harassment" a couple of months ago.

Any thought of softening it in the wake of Sept. 11?

"No. I'm not one to change my life on account of the attacks. I'll fly the same way. I'll work the same way," he says, not kidding now. "If we're going to change our lives because someone wants us to be afraid, they're getting exactly what they want. I'm a patriot. I'm not changing anything."