If you recently saw the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, it may have struck you that it was somewhat similar to Forrest Gump. Both are about a distinctive character living through momentous historical event, with a copious dose of special effects. But the similarities run much deeper.

Although Benjamin Button is based on a 1921 F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, and therefore precedes Forrest Gump by many years, the movie is not anything like the short story, except for the main character’s name and the living-backward gimmick. In fact, both movies were written by Eric Roth, and contains many of the same situations and storylines, as you can see.