Я вот так делаю:

Код AS3:
private function placeBackground(scaledObject:DisplayObject):void {
scaledObject.scaleX = scaledObject.scaleY = 1;
var backgroundBitmapProportion:Number = scaledObject.width / scaledObject.height;
var stageProportion:Number = stage.stageWidth / stage.stageHeight;
var scale:Number;
if (backgroundBitmapProportion > stageProportion){
scale = stage.stageHeight / scaledObject.height;
} else {
scale = stage.stageWidth / scaledObject.width;
}
scaledObject.scaleX = scaledObject.scaleY = scale;
scaledObject.x = (stage.stageWidth - scaledObject.width) / 2;
scaledObject.y = (stage.stageHeight - scaledObject.height) / 2;
}