They probably meant "working to get the film made", as opposed to actually filming it or anything like that. I just checked a timeline that I keep of all important Depp events
and have the official DS announcement as having been July 26, 2007, which was not quite 2 years ago. And I think that there have been reports that he was in talks with DC productions for a time prior to that.
As for the blogger, well, bloggers' opinions are like... well, you know, everyone's got one
I for one hope that the film is as un-Charlie&ChocFac-like as possible. But after seeing Sweeney Todd, my faith in Burton to direct this film has increased (I still think someone like Guillermo del Toro might've been a more interesting choice for this one...)
Cathy