Twilight star Kristen Stewart, who plays Bella, spoke to Ryan Seacrest about New Moon–and notes filming will start just a few months from now, in March. She’s super excited about filming in Italy–

“A lot of the book takes place in Italy, and I think we’re going to get to go to Italy– which is so cool,” Stewart, 18, says. “For a while there they were like ‘Oh we don’t know if we have the money,’ but uh, now I think we may have the money,” she laughed.

Stewart has a lot of respect for the character of Bella, and is eager to play her again:

“It’s oddly engaging. I mean you read the book and you feel like you are the character,” she says. “It’s a totally vicarious experience. She’s [Bella] such a good strong female character. I can understand why girls put themselves in her position.”

Kristen Stewart: Over the New Moon