An Australian hedge fund manager is hoping to cash in on the credit crunch by writing a novel, and now a screenplay, about the global financial meltdown.

Richard Hains' book Chameleon is about a trader who is forced to flee New York when a deal backfires.

The novel has been well received by critics and is in the running for America's National Book Award.

Hains hopes the chaos on the financial markets, and subsequent backlash against the excesses of the money men, will help make the movie a box office hit.

He said: "The screenplay is littered with references that the bankers have now become the bad guys, which is kind of funny, notwithstanding the public perception that that that was long overdue.

"There has been this extraordinary kind of tirade at the level of indulgence which has been splattered across the popular press."

He added: "I think I've used my understanding and experiences of the financial markets to weave it into the screenplay to make it a highly contemporary and provocative thriller."

The film is now in pre-production.

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