MONTREAL – Alliance Films, Canada’s leading film distributor, has paid all of its approximately $400 million debt, putting it in a stronger position to pounce on new films and ink output deals.

The transaction was approved by the board of directors and by its shareholders, the Quebec government investment arm Societe Generale de Financement du Quebec […]

3-D homevideo is set to make a splash next year, with manufacturers coming out with rigs that use two competing styles of glasses and even some that don’t need glasses at all. Samsung has sold as many as a million “3-D-ready” flat-panel sets that need active shutter glasses. Hyundai is selling LCD sets that use polarizer glasses in Japan, and JVC is expected to unveil a similar set for the American market at next month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. These competing proprietary systems, which use different types of glasses, seem to augur the onset of another format war . . .

LONDON – Television production company RDF Media, the creator of “Wife Swap” and “Faking It,” said Thursday it had agreed terms for a 52 million pounds ($80 million) management buyout financed by reality king John de Mol’s Cyrte Investments.

Shares in the ailing producer were up 16% at 1.15 pounds ($1.77) on news of the deal, […]

The Screen Actors Guild will send out its strike authorization vote to members next month, making it possible for actors to strike as early as January — prompting a bitter response from the majors. In a message to SAG’s 120,000 members sent Wednesday, SAG president Alan Rosenberg said a strike would be called by the national board “only if it becomes absolutely necessary.”

Look at most movie databases, and you’ll find no mention of a new film called “Paper Hearts.” But talk to indie film insiders and the unconventional comedy, which stars Michael Cera and boasts other credits from Judd Apatow’s talent stable, and you’ll quickly realize how high expectations are running for this semi-secret project that’s expected to debut at next year’s Sundance Film Festival. “It’s pretty much ‘the one,’ at least as far as festival programmers are concerned,” one seller said.

In response to customer concerns, Sony of Canada and Videoscope are presenting an XDCAM HD WorkFlow Seminar. This two hour presentation will cover everything camera people, video producers, and post house personnel need to know about the XDCAM HD workflow: “From Acquisition to Post Production: How to get HD from the Shoot to the End User.” The seminar takes place on Friday, December 5 at 10:00 a.m. Space is limited so RSVP to Silvia: swineland@videoscope.com.

Canwest Broadcasting has inked a three-year deal to air Barbara Walters specials on its flagship Global network, poaching her from rival CTV.

“Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008″ will be on Global on Dec. 4, simulcast with ABC. That spec will include interviews with Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Tina Fey, Rush Limbaugh, […]

The strike saber-rattling by the Screen Actors Guild is sending the studios into the arms of its rival, AFTRA, for pilot season.

The prospect of SAG going on strike by mid-January, just as primetime’s pilot season starts in earnest, is ensuring that more broadcast network pilots will be produced under AFTRA contracts than under SAG pacts […]

Jason Priestley is a fan of Canadian television, so it makes perfect sense for him to host this year’s Gemini Awards. The Geminis honour the best in Canadian television; at one time, putting the words ‘best’ and ‘Canadian television’ together would have garnered several jokes at the expense of Canada’s TV industry. Today, it’s a different story. The Canadian television landscape has changed dramatically since The Beachcombers and The Littlest Hobo. “Now (the industry) is so much bigger and so much better funded than when I started,” said Priestley.

An aborted screening of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” last week has raised concerns within the film community over digital projection. On Thursday night at the DGA Theatre in Los Angeles, Paramount held the first major industry showing of “Button,” David Fincher’s widely anticipated drama that is expected to be one of the season’s big awards contenders. But about 25 minutes into the film, the image froze, the film stopped and the house lights went up…