MY CHAUFFEUR

When “Kangaroo” stars Judy Davis and Colin Friels turned up hours late for the Aussie film’s U.S. premiere at the Santa Barbara Film Festival March 6--missing a parade and other ceremonies--distributor Cineplex Odeon publicly blamed a brush fire along the San Diego Freeway for a limo delay. The real story: Chauffeur Jon Jacobs went south on the freeway from L.A. instead of north, failing to realize his “wrong turn” until he saw a sign indicating Carlsbad.

“Call me Wrong-Way Jacobs,” said the affable part-time actor (he appeared on a recent “St. Elsewhere”), who was circulating alongside Davis and Friels shaking hands with patient fans.

Festival promoters said that the two stars, hubby and wife offscreen, arrived “tired but gracious.” Jacobs dubbed them “real cool” about his gaffe.

Not so cool: Fuming producer Ross Dimsey and an angry Odeon assistant, who called Metro Limousine the next day demanding Jacobs be fired. But Metro told us that after a five-day layoff, Jacobs is back on the job--one of his first pickups was an Odeon executive!