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The son of an Arab monarch took the King of Pop to court Monday, charging that Michael Jackson took $7 million (U.S.) as an advance on an album and an autobiography that he never produced.

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Jason DeCrow/The Associated Press

Current and former VJs, from left, Vanessa Minnillo, Sway, Jesse Camp, Carson Daly, Hilarie Burton, Susie Castillo, Damien Fahey, LaLa Vasquez, Quddus and Tim Kash pose in the press room during MTV's ‘TRL Total Finale Live’ at the MTV Times Square Studios Sunday in New York.

Lawyers for Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain say the money was given to Jackson as an advance on the book and joint recording project with the sheik, who is an amateur songwriter. Jackson claims the money was a gift.

Jackson and Al Khalifa were not at London's Royal Courts of Justice as the trial opened. Jackson's lawyers said he would seek permission to testify by video link from the United States.

Bankim Thanki, a lawyer for Al Khalifa, said the royal first spoke to Jackson by telephone while the singer was on trial in California on charges of child molestation.

Al Khalifa wanted to work with Jackson on rebuilding his career, Thanki said. To that end, the sheik spent millions paying Jackson's legal fees, moving him to Bahrain and supporting Jackson, his family and entourage.

The expenses included $350,000 for a European vacation for Jackson and his associates, Thanki said. "The cost even included the expenses of bringing out Mr. Jackson's hairdresser," Thanki said. "It's not a conventional commercial dispute."

Jackson's finances fell apart after he was arrested in 2003 over allegations he molested a 13-year-old boy at his ranch. A jury cleared him of all the charges.

Last week he was forced to give up the deed on Neverland, a 1,000-hectare miniature amusement park in California named for the mythical land of Peter Pan.

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Carson Daly chatted with Eminem, Beyonce gave a show-stopping performance, girls shrieked at the sight of Justin Timberlake and hundreds of fans lined up outside in Times Square for a glimpse at superstars.

For few hours, it seemed like old times at MTV's Total Request Live - back when the show was not only music's most powerful force but a dominant part of pop culture. Unfortunately, it took the show's demise to make it relevant again.

MTV pulled the plug on its most influential franchise Sunday night, following years of declining ratings, but not before marking the occasion with celebration and nostalgia, as some of pop's biggest stars paid respects to the show that helped launch their careers.

"I feel like they're kinda tearin' down my home," Eminem said via phone as he and Daly, TRL's first and most famous host, commiserated during the live, three-hour broadcast from the show's headquarters.

"It's a bittersweet moment," Diddy, the show's most frequent guest, said as he cried mock tears and gave one of the final waves to the Times Square audience from TRL's glass-encased studios above.

"It's a big loss, not having this as a platform to promote our music," said 50 Cent in the show's waning moments.

But TRL's greatest claim to fame was a no-show. Britney Spears entire career, from its meteoric rise to tragic downturn to recent resurgence, was chronicled on TRL, but she didn't attend the goodbye gala. Still, her presence loomed large. As the show did its final countdown of all-time videos, her now-iconic first hit, . . . Baby One More Time, emerged as the top video, and played as the credits rolled.

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Lillo Brancato was a young actor with a solid resume: He made his debut in 1993 in A Bronx Tale and played a mobster wannabe in The Sopranos.

Brancato's real-life troubles began not long after he befriended Steven Armento, a reputed low-level Genovese crime family associate.

Prosecutors say Brancato's life went into a tailspin with a pair of drug-related arrests and the 2005 shooting death of an off-duty police officer.

Brancato has been charged with second-degree murder and other crimes in the death of Officer Daniel Enchautegui. Jury selection for the trial began Monday.

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U.S. actress Lindsay Lohan has been pelted with a flour bomb on arrival at a Paris nightclub wearing a fur stole.

Animal rights activists showered the 22-year-old actress with flour when she went to the VIP Room Theatre in the early hours of Saturday with her friend, disc jockey Samantha Ronson.

The owner of the nightclub helped Lohan dust off her blue sequined dress and black stole before she posed on the red carpet. Ronson went on to spin tracks for a crowd that included reggae rapper Shaggy and I Kissed a Girl singer Katy Perry.