Before the face-off shenanigans, an edgy and intense Fury said it was no longer time for joking and that he will "do some serious damage" to his rival.

Hollywood was experiencing a creative flowering, thanks to the independent film movement and edgier cable TV fare like HBO’s “The Sopranos.”

The main note I would get was that I was not edgy enough.

ROTHKOPF: There is, as you indicate, a kind of momentum that can build for an edgier performance or title out of the critics’ groups.

This week's relaunch seems designed to get the brand out of a comfortable rut and attempt to make it edgy again, while retaining at least some of its past cachet.