RED CARPET PRODIGY TEEN REPORTER WITH WEB SITE FINDS FANS AMONG STARS.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

As Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe make their way to glitzy parties after Sunday's Academy Awards, amid the throng of reporters seeking face time with Tinseltown's elite will be a clean-cut kid who would seemingly be more at home at a high school prom.

But Fred Medill won't have to fight to be noticed. He will easily be the youngest journalist there, wearing a tuxedo and filing celebrity interviews for his popular FredTV Web site.

``I admire people for who they are and their talent but I'm not usually star-struck,'' said the articulate 16-year-old, who launched the site (www.fredtv.net) in March 1999.

Fred's rapport with Hollywood's major players has been evident at industry events like Saturday's premiere of ``E.T. The Extra Terrestrial'' where he chatted up director Steven Spielberg for the first time.

At the Directors Guild of America Awards the weekend before, Fred was placed at the end of the red carpet and far away from the likes of ``Entertainment Tonight'' and ``Access Hollywood.'' But the celebrities still found their way to him.

``Hi, Fred!'' said Kidman, the most sought-after star at the event. The ``Moulin Rouge'' actress gave Fred a lengthy interview - she approached him - as did the film's charismatic director, Baz Luhrmann.

``I see Nicole Kidman at a lot of events and she is always very nice to me,'' Fred explained later. ``She took a liking to me and so did her publicists. You have to get to know the publicists and be nice to them.''

Also at the DGA Awards was flashbulb magnet Halle Berry who Fred met for the first time. Guy Pearce, Helen Mirren and Ron Howard stopped for chats as well. Howard lingered the longest, peppering Medill with questions about his Web site before entering the awards dinner where Howard was named best director of the year by his peers.

FredTV combines the teen's exclusive interviews with celebrities with movie trailers and analysis. It is available in about 600 hospitals in the United States and Canada where hospitalized children can view the Internet broadcasts on special mobile computers called PC Pals.

The teen has also become involved in the Starlight Foundation, a charity that grants wishes to seriously ill children who Fred sometimes brings with him to Hollywood events.

Recording most of the proceedings with a digital camera is Fred's father, Los Angeles attorney Cary Medill, who has accompanied the oldest of his three sons to hundreds of Hollywood events.

``Just seeing him in action and seeing him get better and better is a father's greatest pleasure,'' Medill said. ``When I saw that he had the talent and was not afraid of approaching people, we sort of let him run with it. This kid has no fear and a good gift for gab.''

But that gift can sometimes make for a breakneck schedule for father and son. The day after the DGA Awards, the pair traveled to the Shrine Auditorium to cover the even more star-studded Screen Actors Guild Awards. The next afternoon, they were at the Beverly Hilton for the annual Academy Awards nominees luncheon, where Fred landed poolside interviews with nominees Sissy Spacek, Marisa Tomei and Howard. And later that night, they headed to Graumann's Chinese Theatre for the premiere of ``Showtime'' starring Robert De Niro who ``I was really excited about interviewing,'' the teen said.

He is quickly learning to handle unexpected situations with aplomb, such as the time a well-known actress suddenly belched on the red carpet during the premiere of ``What Women Want.'' At another event, Fred was waiting to interview Crowe when another reporter asked the star of ``A Beautiful Mind'' an inane question to which the actor barked, ``That's the most stupid question I've ever heard!''

``My turn was next and I was so scared,'' Fred recalled. ``But he was very nice to me and treated me with respect. He also straightened out my tie for me.''

Since covering a premiere generally takes about an hour, Fred has become adept at time management, doing his homework then editing the evening's event on a Macintosh G4 so it can appear on his site the next day.

The teen's foray into celebrity interviewing began when he was 12 and was invited on a tour of CNN's Los Angeles studios by Larry King whom he and his father had met during one of their weekly outings to the famed Beverly Hills eatery Nate 'n Al's.

Later that year, his parents won tickets to the movie premiere of the Adam Sandler comedy ``Big Daddy.'' When Cary Medill called to R.S.V.P., he asked if his son could cover the event from the press line. Fred has since worked more than 200 movie premieres and award shows.

``The first red carpet interview I ever did was with Adam Sandler, and I kept turning toward the camera and my questions weren't very thought provoking,'' he admitted. ``But I've learned a lot being out on the press line.''

His Web site has gained such a high profile that he was invited to guest on ``The Tonight Show'' and traveled to New York to appear on ``Today.''

Last year, FredTV caught the attention of StarzEncore, a Colorado-based network cable channel. About three times a month, they will send a cameraman with Fred to a premiere and air his two- to three-minute reports.

The increased demands on his time led to a decision a few months ago to begin being home-schooled. But Fred expects to return to the private Milken High School in Beverly Hills next fall.

``I miss my friends,'' he said.

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Photo:

(color) Fred Medill scores an interview with director Steven Spielberg at Saturday's premiere of ``E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.''

Kevin Winter/ImageDirect