Is that the famous picture of the black hole that we see in Netflix's new Christmas movie? Yes, and Professor of Astronomy Heino Falcke can also be glimpsed for a few seconds. ‘With all the budget cuts, it is good to see Dutch science having an impact as far away as Hollywood.’

“Cool, dad is going to be in a Christmas film with Lindsay Lohan!” That was the message posted by one of Heino Falcke’s children in the family WhatsApp group, which promptly exploded with responses.

‘I thought: what have I done now?’ says Falcke, laughing. ‘In response to which, someone forwarded me the clip.’

Our Little Secret is the title of the new romcom in question, which can be seen on Netflix. In the film, two resentful exes are condemned to an awkward Christmas when they find out that their new partners are brother and sister.

The cast includes among others Lindsay Lohan and Ian Harding. The reviews have not been raving – the film scores an average rating of 5.7 out of 10 on IMDB.

Notre-Dame

Nijmegen Professor of Astronomy Heino Falcke does make an appearance in the film for a few seconds. Footage is shown of the unveiling of the photo of the black hole that took place in 2019. The Professor stands at a lectern at the European Commission and says ‘this is the first ever image of a black hole’, while the famous photo appears on a big screen behind him.

‘Apparently, according to the film-makers, the picture of black hole is one of the most important moments of 2019’

In the film, the clip is part of a series of key moments that took place between 2014 and 2024: a time travel sequence connecting two parts of the film. Among other things, the overview shows the Notre-Dame fire (2019), the coronation of King Charles (2023) and Argentina’s World Cup win in 2022. ‘Apparently, according to the film-makers, the picture of black hole is one of the most important moments of 2019,’ says Falcke. ‘That is kind of striking, and a bit funny.’

Not his real voice

Permission to use the images in question was not sought from the Professor or the Event Horizon Telescope, the global network of radio telescopes that photographs black holes. ‘If you look closely, you can see that no moving picture was used, but a photo of the press conference. Perhaps it is a royalty-free image that the creators could find for free.’

Nor is Falcke’s real voice featured in the excerpt. ‘I did say that sentence, but in the film someone else says it – a voice actor or AI, I don’t know. Presumably the producers did not want to pay money for an actual clip of the press conference. But of course, if they had asked, they would have been allowed to use it.’

Falcke is pleased that the latest scientific insights about black holes have found their way to the silver screen in this way. ‘In Interstellar, a 2014 film, a previous, old-fashioned simulation of a black hole was still used. The colour of the black hole was even darker then. This film helps change people’s perception of black holes.’

Hollywood

When the photo of the black hole was first presented, in 2019, it went viral. It was seen by an estimated 4.5 billion people. ‘Although I always say that 4 billion of these people probably forgot it straight away,’ says Falcke. ‘Yet the photo seems to have struck a chord with people. That is by no means a given in science. With all the budget cuts, it is good to see Dutch science having an impact all the way to Hollywood.’

With this appearance in the Netflix film, the very first photo of the black hole now seems to have become a permanent element of pop culture. The photograph was also included in exhibitions at the Valkhof Museum and Museum Boerhaave in Leiden, and the black hole is also increasingly turning up in paintings, says Falcke. ‘Incidentally, there is also a documentary on Netflix about black holes (The Edge of All We Know, eds.), which might be more interesting than a Christmas film.’

Star Wars

Falcke is probably not going to watch Our Little Secret this Christmas. ‘No, we don’t have Netflix at home. I’ve been told that if you’ve seen one such Christmas film, you’ve seen them all. Give me Star Trek or Star Wars anytime. At Christmas, our family comes to visit and we go to church together – my daughter and son-in-law lead a service. I find that more important than watching a film anyway.’