The Lion's cage may be trucked off shortly...

According to Variety, MGM is to be auctioned off in the next few weeks.

As the trade suggests, "This would mean that a major, such as Time Warner, could buy the MGM-UA library while another entity might acquire the logo, and yet another deal could be made for United Artists. Sources speculated that Kirk Kerkorian, who has already bought and sold MGM twice, might buy the logo once again."

It was reported last year that MGM - home to recent flicks such as "Quantum of Solace" and "Valkyrie" - was some $3.7 billion in debt.

The company's current worth? as little as $1.5 billion in the present market.

Though MGM have some 4,000 titles in their library, some believe their product be too "geriatric" to be worth a darn.

This year MGM released the remake of "Fame". Their upcoming fare includes "Hot Tub Time Machine", "Red Dawn" and "The Zookeeper".

Whoever snaps up the company will inherit such titles as the James Bond franchise, "Rocky", the "Jeepers Creepers" series, the 'Pink Panther' series, and "Walking Tall".