‘2 Guns’ will leave ‘Smurfs’ blue. Tom Rothman to revive TriStar.

After the coffee. Before seeing if CBS or Time Warner Cable blinks first.

The Skinny: I’m literally writing the Skinny with my cat Skinny sprawled on my desk. It is kind of a distraction. Today’s roundup includes stories on the weekend box office preview; Fox’s day at press tour and Tom Rothman’s new gig trying to revive TriStar for Sony. Also, a review of “2 Guns.”

Daily Dose: It will be deja vu all over again as I will again spend the day tracking negotiations between Time Warner Cable and CBS for a new distribution deal. The deadline is this afternoon at 2 p.m., but as we all learned Monday, that’s not exactly written in stone. Stay tuned to Company Town and my Twitter feed for updates.

Feeling blue. “The Smurfs 2” will likely have a blue weekend as “2 Guns,” starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, is expected to shoot up the competition at the box office. The movie, which has gotten mixed reviews, has been projected to make about $30 million this weekend while “The Smurfs 2” should take in about $20 million. Box office previews from the Los Angeles Times and Variety.

PHOTOS: Hollywood backlot moments

Back on the horse. Sony wants to revive its TriStar movie and television brand (remember the flying white horse logo?) and has tapped former 20th Century Fox studio head Tom Rothman to lead the effort. Rothman, who was squeezed out of Fox last year, will have an equity stake at TriStar, which will be financed by Sony. The plan initially is for TriStar to make up to four movies a year. Details from the New York Times and Hollywood Reporter.

The bigger picture. Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly is tired of having his network’s shows judged on the next day’s ratings. Speaking at the semi-annual TV Critics Assn. press tour, Reilly tried to make the case that the next day’s ratings are becoming increasingly irrelevant in an era when more viewers are recording shows on their DVRs to watch later or catch up with programs via the Internet or video-on-demand. All true, but until the networks stop touting those numbers in early morning emails to media, old habits will be hard to break. Reilly also talked “Glee” and “American Idol.” More on Reilly’s remarks from the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal.

A full house. The White House nominated Michael O’Rielly to serve as a Republican commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, according to Broadcasting & Cable. Most recently an advisor to Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), O’Rielly would assume the post vacated by Robert McDowell and finish out his term. Once O’Rielly and Tom Wheeler, Obama’s choice to serve as next chairman of the FCC, get through the confirmation process, the regulatory agency will be operating at full strength.

PHOTOS: Celebrity portraits by The Times

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Kenneth Turan on how “Two Guns” is firing blanks. ABC and Univision unveiled details on their new network Fusion aimed at English-speaking Latinos.

Follow me on Twitter for the real deal. @JBFlint.