Here's your dose of quick news bits for Jan. 14, 2009...

• Here are the nine semifinalists for the best foreign-language Oscar: "Revanche" from Austria; "The Necessities of Life" from Canada; "Entre les murs" (The Class) from France; "Der Baader Meinhof Komplex" from Germany; "Waltz With Bashir" from Israel; "Departures" from Japan; "Tear This Heart Out" from Mexico; "Everlasting Moments" from Sweden; and "3 Monkeys" from Turkey. (Academy Awards)

• Summit Entertainment has aquired the big-screen rights to Gayle Forman's novel "If I Stay." The story focuses on a musician and her boyfriend whose lives change when they get caught up in a tragic train wreck.

• Emmanuelle Chriqui has joined the cast of Géla Babluani’s remake "13." Michael Shannon, Ben Gazzara and Alex Skarsgard also recently jumped on board. The film follows a man who gets a hold of a mysterious package with a set of instructions leading to a fortune. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Alex Holmes is set to write "The Infiltrator" for 2929 Prods. The film is based on Robert Mazur's upcoming memoir "The Infiltrator: My Secret Life Inside the Dirty Banks Behind Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel," which follows a Customs official who had a hand in uncovering a money laundering scheme involving Escobar. (Variety)